Editorial

Shift Happens - Not Everyone Likes the Same Video Content and Tastes Change

“Maybe you should take a minute and think before you do anything drastic.” – Janet Matthews, “Dream Scenario,” A24, 2023

When Netflix first decided to release viewership data, we thought they were being really ambiguous.

After all, who cares about how many two-minute chunks of a show you watched or, for that matter, that a whole bunch of their global subscribes watched 20-30M minutes of a new movie/show release?

When we finally make our view now decision – usually based on their algorithm’s recommendation that are based on past viewing – we stick with the show/movie till the end unless it’s a really sucky piece of content.

Heck, they didn’t have to let us know at all since they weren’t pedaling ads so, the only reason to tell others if the project was liked was to attract more subscribers (was to say folks watched a gazillion minutes rather than 10+ M viewers).

Then the lightbulb lit.

They were giving us a real insight into the beauty and value of digital streaming content that was never possible with old-fashioned linear shows.

Back then, studios/networks (and advertisers) could get an idea of gross numbers but didn’t know – could probably care less – if folks actually really stuck with the video story.

But with ultra-detailed viewership data (and powerful analytics) they could learn so much more. They could not only determine what genre (horror, documentary, action, sci-fi, fantasy, anime or…) appealed most to their subscribers but also what actors, directors, storylines and plot twists/turns kept viewers viewing.

The more they learned, the more they could work with their show/movie partners to create not just better creative pieces but also stuff that more folks actually wanted to see and stuff they wanted to recommend/brag about to friends and people at work.



About thefuture.tv

Thefuture.tv, founded in 2005, is an independently owned organisation that explores the future of broadcasting. It features articles, editorials, and interviews on topics such as the rise of streaming services, the impact of AI on content creation, the latest technological innovations and new product launches.



SMPTE Releases Engineering Report on Artificial Intelligence and the Media

26-Feb-24

SMPTE®, the home of media professionals, technologists, and engineers, in conjunction with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and the Entertainment Technology Center (ETC), have released a comprehensive document on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its effect on the media. The document was the result of a task force on AI standards in media that began in 2020. 



Editorial

Privacy is Relative when You Get Something in Return

Source: The Girl, "Anon," Netflix


 "Breaks my life up into fractions of seconds and randomly stores them in the records of everyone else. But if you try to find that split second of me, it would go by without you knowing. You have to have the algorithm to put my entire life back together." –– The Girl, "Anon," Netflix, 2018


Years ago, we went online and "visited" the State Library of New South Wales in Sydney.


And like Stew Brand, founder of the Whole Earth Catalog, advocated; perusing all of that great information was free.


But as Steve Wozniak, Apple co–founder, advocated; it was also expensive.


We did have to give them "a little bit of our information" so we could spend hours in the library coming and going at will and staying as long as we wanted ... for free.

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Hero image – “A.I. Artificial Intelligence,” Warner Brothers

To the logical conclusion… that Blue Fairy is part of the great human flaw to wish for things that don’t exist, or to the greatest single human gift – the ability to chase down our dreams.” — Professor Hobby, “A.I. Artificial Intelligence,” Warner Bros., 2001

Money has been important in the WGA/SAG-AFTRA strike– and you name it strike; but that’s a discussion for a later discussion.

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Have you ever written/coded your own algorithm?

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