Netflix adds Double Thumbs Up rating to provide 'more specific' recommendations

Netflix introduced a new Double Thumbs Up button on its streaming platform on Monday in addition to the existing thumbs up and thumbs down ratings. The company said this would help them improve the recommendations that will be presented to its members.

In the announcement post, Netflix director of product innovation Christine Doig-Cardet said the regular thumbs up and thumbs down ratings have helped the company come up with personalized recommendations for every profile. “However, we’ve learned over time that these feelings can go beyond a simple like or dislike,” Doig-Cardet said. “Providing an additional way to tell us when you’re really into something means a profile with recommendations that better reflect what you enjoy.”

The new Double Thumbs Up feature will now appear on Netflix web and apps for TV, Android, and iOS. The new rating will sit beside the regular thumbs up rating. Giving a show or movie a thumbs down means it will not be recommended to members again in the future. Subscribers can still see and use the regular thumbs up button, and it will still play a part in the types of shows and movies that will be recommended to them.

Members can opt for the Double Thumbs Up rating if they are a “true fan” of the title. Netflix said the new rating button would help the streaming platform “fine-tune” and be “more specific” with the TV show and movie recommendations that members will find on their profiles.

The company also explained that the Double Thumbs Up rating would not only recommend titles with similar genres or content. But sometimes viewers also end up really liking certain actors’ performances on the shows or movies they have watched. Netflix said the new rating feature will also help members find more content related to actors or even production companies involved in the titles they rate with the Double Thumbs Up. “For example, if you loved ‘Bridgerton,’ you might see even more shows or films starring the cast, or from Shondaland,” Doig-Cardet added.

Netflix users may have noticed that some of the shows and movies on the platform have gained a Most Liked badge. TechCrunch suggests the possibility that Netflix would later introduce a new Most Loved badge following the addition of the Double Thumbs Up rating.

Photo by Souvik Banerjee on Unsplash