Looks like Netflix needs more of our opinions. Except that he is not looking for it All From our shows and movies. Netflix’s secret, rarely-talked-about collection of shows, called the Netflix Preview Club, is said to expand by at least 400% in the new year, giving more Netflix subscribers the chance to catch new movies and shows before everyone else.
The latest news on the Netflix Preview Club comes from The Wall Street Journal, which indicates that the program will expand from its current pool of more than 2,000 members “to include tens of thousands of users around the world,” and that this will happen “early next year.” The global expansion is notable because Variety noted that Netflix’s Preview Club only got early reviews within the US.
The magazine also notes that Netflix’s Oscar-nominated film Don’t Look Up was one of the films that changed reviews – with reviews declaring the film too serious and in need of more comedy.
Essentially, this is Netflix’s work-from-home version of the focus group test, a practice that’s been done for movies, TV shows, and other productions for years. Netflix used similar means to beta test its shuffle-based Play Something tool, and this preview program gave users access to movies and shows that hadn’t come out yet‚ to get early feedback.
The Netflix Preview Club started in May 2021, according to diverse (Opens in a new tab). Emails sent to subscribers read “We at Netflix are building a community of members to view and give feedback on upcoming movies and series, and we’d love to know if you’d be interested in being a part of it.”
Can you sign up for the Netflix Preview Club?
In short: we doubt it.
All reports so far indicate that the Netflix Preview Club is invite-only. The streaming service picks potential members on its own – it likely uses its data from what you watch to see if your opinion is useful say if you always watch shows and movies Before They became famous – and I invited them especially.
We’ve reached out to Netflix for further comment.
Analysis: This is Netflix’s best hope for the future
Netflix, at the moment, is in a state of flux. On top of getting many of his best shows in breaks, and apparently relying on high-profile films to get him through the winter, he’s fired up Netflix with ads and plans to enact the big Netflix password-sharing campaign we’ve heard about.
According to my testing, Netflix with ads seems patchy. And as you might be able to guess, Netflix’s attempt to stop account sharing is only going to make people more upset (meanwhile, we’re still upset about GLOW’s cancellation).
While Wednesday is a huge hit, it needs more like Wednesday to fill in the gaps, as some of Netflix’s biggest shows are coming to an end soon. Stranger Things season 5 marks the end of the road for Hawkins, and The Crown season 6 is the end of Netflix’s drama for the royal family.
If, somehow, Netflix can better put its finger on the pulse of what people want, it will have a better chance of retaining users because the war between the best streaming services will only get tighter. EPIX is set to relaunch as MGM Plus, the merger of HBO Max and Discovery Plus will do a superlative to give Netflix a stronger competitor and that’s the news we know is coming in 2023.
next one: Peacock documentary about Casey Anthony Infuriate online