Netflix Subscriber Data Reveals 70% of Global Streaming Ends Up on TVs, 10% on Phones

Netflix this week gave a briefing to a group of reporters in its Los Gatos, California company headquarters, revealing data about its subscribers' device streaming habits and how these habits might change over the course of a few months (via Recode). While the information isn't particularly shocking, it is one of the rare times that Netflix has provided data and opened up about the streaming habits of its users.


In terms of global Netflix user signups, 40 percent of signups happen on a Mac or PC, but after six months those users have dwindled down to just 15 percent still watching Netflix on their computer. Over time, users understandably migrate to larger screens, with 70 percent of total global Netflix streams ending up on television sets six months after first signing up.

Under TVs and computers, smartphones represent 10 percent of Netflix streaming six months after signing up, followed by tablets at just 5 percent.

Netflix graphs via Recode
While there are some exceptions, this largely stays true across various countries around the globe. In Italy, for example, 36 percent of users are signing up for Netflix on their computer and 54 percent are spending most of their viewing hours on a TV set. Thailand users are predominantly signing up on their smartphones, but viewing habits are nearly equal between TV (35 percent) and computers (29 percent).


The favoritism for TV continues when broken down by genres, although there are slight variations in percentages where device preference varies from genre to genre. Kids shows, for example, are the least popular on computers and the most popular on TVs, while also favoring handheld devices like iPhones and iPads. Dramas have popularity on iPhones and other handheld products, while Documentaries are the third most popular genre to stream on a TV, behind Kids and Family.


CNET had a few additional tidbits of information, stating that about 25 percent of Netflix's total global streaming for any given day happens on mobile networks, as users watch shows or movies on the go. Users also tend to watch movies more often on weekend evenings, while gravitating towards shorter TV show episodes during the hours of the day.

Earlier this week, Netflix said that it will soon add expanded parental controls across devices in the coming months, including the ability for parents to add a PIN lock to individual TV shows and movies. Ratings will also be more prominently displayed across Netflix apps and when content begins playing, so parents are more aware if shows and films are appropriate for their children.

As soon as April, Netflix will be rolling out vertical video clips that provide 30-second snippets of the service's most popular content as a way to provide users with a quick glimpse into what the shows and movies are about.