Netflix Q2 2023 earnings are out now and the mood was mostly positive. Success in paid exchange and the steady growth of advertising «over time» were key areas of discussion.
Netflix seems to feel that it is getting ahead of its most embattled competitors. A deeper cut into this chaff from a Wall Street perspective is finished with Ian Whittaker, and despite the good vibes, the share price dropped. However, very little is said about games in general; is your comfortable position perhaps chilling the need for that narrative?
Earnings season falls amid escalating strikes by actors and writers. This halt in production represents a savings and more free cash flow on Netflix for nowalthough Ted Sarandos heavily stressed that the current situation is not ideal for anyone.
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos begins the company’s earnings call by saying the writers’ and actors’ strikes are «not the outcome we wanted.» He says that «we have a lot of work to do» on «a handful of difficult issues.»
— Natalie Jarvey (@natjarv) July 19, 2023
Other developments for the second quarter of 2023
Change in top 10 hours watched metrics
Last month, Netflix announced a change to how they would report global hours watched in the future. They are now basing the ranking on «views» instead of «hours viewed.» Don’t be fooled, there is no additional data here. Netflix will do the math for you, taking the total hours watched and dividing it by the running time of the title. This is despite the streamer actually knowing how many views the content had.
What’s on Netflix contributor and data nerd Frédéric Durand has been a fan of this approach for a long time. So much so that he was doing it before Netflix. For me, it’s not something I would prefer with children’s titles. We all know that our young audience watches movies and series and watches again. They even rewatch certain episodes (Hello, everything related to the season, especially Christmas/Halloween) and even sections (Hello, the opening 20 minutes of alive which has the three most impactful tunes I’ve ever seen at my son’s behest a million times).
One segment where it will help is titles with shorter durations – think comedy specials. The downside is that the subtle change in ranking criteria poses a problem when comparing the top 10 positions before the change to those after the change. Intentional sleight of hand to keep deep understanding of content performance out of reach? Oh no, not Netflix.
The second part of this change focuses on the most popular series and movies of all time based on views. In addition to this new metric, the ranking now spans 91 days instead of the 28-day benchmark previously used. That is, of course, good for children’s content, and there was an interesting development here. We can be heroesa ruddy-colored live-action superhero movie from late 2020, rebounded on this foundation.
It was directed by Robert Rodriquez of the Spy Kids franchise and coincidentally featured talents like Pedro Pascal, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, and Christian Slater. The US Nielsen streaming content ratings performance of the title in christmas 2020 came out of nowhere to push under Soul for a few weeks.
Chris Nee is no longer on Netflix
And she was as candid as you’d expect. when speaking to The Hollywood Reporter. The problems with the algorithms were something she specifically mentioned. If you can’t navigate the algorithm like Chris Nee from the inside, what hope do you have from the outside? Yo recently conducted an analysis that included his series Ridley Jones, using data from Digital i. Add short-season orders to the list of broadcast-specific tactics they might cancel as well. Preschool content in particular needs time to adjust.
Performance of children’s content in the second quarter of 2023
The highlights of children’s series for Netflix Q2 2023
These remain unstocked, sorry guys. first sonic season 2 slipped into the rankings in this last week. The first season had previously ranked for three weeks, with much higher numbers. Scraping the barrel, the Smurfs 2021 series also managed number 10 for one week. Let’s go Smurfs!
In youth content, a new series by both Sweet tooth and I have never brought back older seasons. According to my survey, the youngest skewed series to launch, XO, kitty got off to a strong start. It is a spin-off of the To All The Boys film series. Common Sense Media has it at a 12+, and the K-pop aesthetic had real accessibility for younger audiences. It was mentioned in the earnings letter as a good example of the range of content the streamer is aiming for.
The highlights of children’s movies for Netflix Q2 2023
About children’s movies, live action movie suck it had a low-key four-week run. This was the subject of some controversy about the colloquial meaning of the title.
About the animated originals, Nimona saw the light of day after a long journey. Based on a graphic novel, the story has warm, underdog, maverick antiheroes, quick banter, and a same-sex relationship. It was billed as a production of Fox-owned Blue Sky Studios. Following Disney’s acquisition of Fox, the entire production role was shelved in 2021. This was amid a hurricane of tensions at Disney related to significant LGBTQIA+ representation and support at the company, as former CEO Bob Chapek reeled in handling the «Don’t Say Gay» bill in Florida. Annapurna and Netflix resurrected the project.
Nimona it came in slow in week 1 and down overall, though as Ryan Faughnder of the LA Times points out, is not exactly as broadly skewed as angry birds 2. Here’s how it compared to other animated originals.
However, the numbers from week to week tell a story, also pointed out by Frédéric Durand. The retention percentage is impressive, in fact, higher than any other Netflix animated original.
One thing that was very evident in the animated films is the strength that legacy motion pictures continue to have. The following titles made the Netflix Global Hours Viewed Top 10 over the course of the quarter, many over multiple weeks. Keep in mind that licenses for these movies will be fragmented between markets, so they dominate globally despite not being on Netflix in every country.
- PAW Patrol: The Movie
- the boss baby
- kung fu panda 3
- The Croods
- sing 2
- Seuss’s Lorax
- shark tale
- Home
- trolls world tour
- trolls
- Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish It’s another first pay window of last year’s theatrically released film and one worth breaking down in a future newsletter.
What’s Coming Next on Netflix Kids for Q3 2023
Plenty! On the series front, super team 4Netflix’s First African Animated Original, Released This Week and 3D Series mechanical cadets launches next month.
There is also season 8 of Gabby’s Dollhouse waiting to hit.
In movies, Miraculous: Ladybug and Cat Noir, the movie hits most markets on July 28he and animated originals the monkey king just released a trailer before August 18he debut.
And we’re still waiting Lion and Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget before the end of the year.
Bringing back live action movies, there was talk of Spy Kids: Armageddon coming to Netflix before the end of the year. Given the success that we can now see in We can be heroesand the sleeping interpretation of titles like suckYou can’t help but think there’s an opportunity on Netflix for more live-action kids’ movies of the right size.