No More Star Ratings For Netflix As They Roll Out Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down System

By SheSpeaksTeam Apr 06, 2017

Netflix users who have become so accustomed to relying on the star rating system to rate programs or choose which movies or shows to watch will soon have to get used to using their thumbs a lot more. The streaming service is replacing their long-used star rating system with a simple thumbs up or thumbs down style rating. The company believes this will allow them to get to know what their customers like or dislike in order to better tailor programming to their liking.

The Hollywood Reporter reports about the big move for the company that will include a scoring system to predict whether customers will like or dislike a particular movie or show. Netflix director of product innovation Cameron Johnson believes that the new rating system will be a better way for the streaming service to offer a more intuitive system for users. Johnson says, “When we shift from a star rating to a simple thumbs-up, thumbs-down, people intuitively understand, 'Oh, I'm teaching Netflix about what I like and what I don't like.” He later adds, “Our goal is to try and get people to spend less time browsing and more time watching. The more we can personalize, it's going to lead to a much better experience."

On top of the new thumbs up/thumbs down system, Netflix will also be introducing a match score that will tell customers how likely they are to enjoy a particular movie or show. This is similar to what they have done in the past with the star system. If you were to notice that one movie only has 2 stars on your Netflix account, but the same movie is rated close to 5 stars on a friend’s, this is because Netflix was trying to predict what you might think of that movie as compared to another user. Netflix believes the easier thumbs up/thumbs down approach will allow them to better predict your preferences.

What do you think of Netflix doing away with the star rating system?

Do you think the thumbs up/thumbs down system will help to better predict user preferences?

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Comments

by jterry | HINESVILLE, GA

Apr 21, 2017

I like the star system, thumbs up or down only does not leave room for shows/movies that you don't love but don't hate, so now it will be only you give it a thumbs up or a thumbs down nothing for an okay show/movie. We will see how it works out for better user preferences, I thinking it may help with that issue. I personally like to rate movies/shows with the star system as I can do it more fairly.

by jannzul | BAYONNE, NJ

Apr 10, 2017

Yes! I enjoy the thumb icons...

by boo_boo_kitty | SAN ANTONIO, TX

Apr 07, 2017

It's really going to make me feel like I'm on Facebook in a way but I will wait and decide once I see how it works out for me. I think as long as it's giving me some kind of feedback to decide whether or not to watch the show or movie, I'll be happy with it once I'm used to it.