Netflix has added a “Double Thumbs Up” button for TV shows, movies, and other content that the company offers for streaming. The new indicator is an obvious step above the standard “Thumbs Up” button, and it could essentially help viewers define their preferences even more profoundly to Netflix’s algorithms that govern the suggested or recommended content.
Streaming giant Netflix seems to have understood well that there’s a big difference between “just liking” a TV show and “loving” it. To indicate to Netflix that they enjoyed a particular show, movie, or documentary, subscribers have had the ability to click the Thumbs Up button. Doing so basically informed Netflix, and more specifically, the Netflix Recommendation Engine, to offer up other, similar TV shows.
Similarly, there’s a Thumbs Down button, which instructs Netflix’s algorithms not to suggest or recommend similar shows. With the Double Thumbs Up button, Netflix seems to be helping users define and convey their tastes even further.
Back in 2017, a Netflix subscriber could rate a TV show or movie on a five-point scale. The rating system extended beyond curating users’ custom playlists. The system also helped developed a crowd-sourced numerical score for others to base their watching decisions. In other words, Netflix had its own IMDb or Rotten Tomatoes score for the content it streamed.
Netflix abandoned the numerical rating system supposedly because users were scoring the content based on what other users were doing. This system wasn’t necessarily an indicator of the quality of content or its appeal.
After Netflix adopted the simpler Thumbs Up and Thumbs Down rating system, it has never looked back. Moving ahead, the Double Thumbs Up button should allow users to indicate that they like something even more than usual. The company has been testing the feature for about a year.
The Double Thumbs Up could easily assist Netflix in driving up engagement as it would have an even better idea about the users’ likes. Netflix hasn’t indicated yet, but it could deploy a Double Thumbs Down button in the future to help users express their displeasure even more profoundly.