Netflix’s New Homepage Pushes Users to Watch, Not Scroll
Netflix is rolling out the first major redesign of its home hub since 2013, hoping people might watch more if inundated with less.
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New Netflix, who dis? The streaming giant is rolling out the first major redesign of its home hub since 2013. To encourage people to watch more — instead of endlessly scrolling through its 18,000+ shows and movies — fewer titles but more animation and video will appear on what the company has dubbed “the new Netflix.”
The new homepage showcases how the streamer has evolved in the past 12 years as it has grown from 30 million subscribers to 300 million. The navigation bar now sits prominently at the top of the hub and features sections dedicated to live programming and games, categories in which it has been investing.
The change will deploy to subscribers’ TV screens (where 70% of Netflix viewing happens) over the coming weeks and months.
‘Squid Game’ Supremacy
Netflix is far and away the top streaming service, and rivals are likely to take notes on the new homepage, considering Netflix’s hub has long been the industry’s go-to template. Plus, Disney’s CEO said earlier this year that the Disney Plus home screen is too static and needs to be more dynamic.
But while Netflix leads streaming by a wide margin, in the wider media sector, it’s losing eyes to YouTube:
- When it comes to binging content on TV screens, Netflix owns 8% of all viewing compared with YouTube’s 12%. According to Nielsen, YouTube’s share grew 19% annually while Netflix’s stayed flat.
- Converting users more quickly from scrolling to viewing could help Netflix catch up. In unveiling its new home screen, Netflix said half of its users don’t open up the platform knowing what to watch and that proportion is growing.
Change the Channel: As Netflix nips at YouTube’s heels, streaming competitors are still fighting for viewers’ limited subscription budgets, even if it’s as add-on services. Disney, Paramount, NBC (Peacock), and Warner Bros. Discovery (Max) all managed to turn profits on their streaming businesses last year as they invested in content, joined bundles, and cracked down on password-sharing. Yesterday, Disney said it expects its streamer to keep growing after sharing rosy first-quarter earnings. It also plans to compete with Netflix on the live-TV front with a standalone ESPN streamer launching this fall.
