Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) has begun rolling out its first major television app overhaul in ten years, aiming to help viewers quickly decide what to watch and ultimately boost engagement on the platform.
The streaming giant is seeking to retain customers and attract subscribers to its new, more affordable plans featuring advertising. Research conducted by the company revealed that users were engaging in what Netflix executive Pat Flemming termed “eye gymnastics,” referring to the process of scanning various parts of the home screen in search of an interesting title.
“We really wanted to make that simpler, more intuitive, everything easier to navigate,” Flemming, senior director of member product, explained in an interview with Reuters.
Changes to the home page include larger title cards, reorganized information, and prominent highlights such as a show or movie’s duration in the top 10 list. A subset of Netflix’s nearly 270 million global users will experience the new format initially, with the company planning to gather feedback and potentially make adjustments before a wider rollout.
Netflix has been emphasizing engagement time as a key metric, considering it the “best proxy for customer satisfaction.” The company intends to shift Wall Street’s focus away from regular reporting of subscriber numbers next year.
The redesign also relocates the menu button from the left to the top of the screen and introduces a new “My Netflix” tab displaying shows or movies a user has started watching or saved for later. Despite the redesign, Netflix will maintain its personalized recommendation algorithm without any modifications.
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