Netflix has started testing a new version of its TV app in the first such upgrade for more than a decade.
A portion of the streamers 270 million users began to see the upgrade in Thursday.
In an interview with Reuters, Netflix executive Pat Flemming described the “eye gymnastics” performed by subscribers as they moved around the screen trying to find something to watch.
“We really wanted to make that simpler, more intuitive, everything easier to navigate,” said Flemming.
Among the changes to the Home Screen are an enlargement to title cards, recorganising information, and highlighting factoids such as “spent 8 weeks in the top 10”.
The menu button has now moved from the left to the top of the screen, while a new My Netflix tab contains shows or movies the subscriber has begun watching or has favourited for later viewing.
The screen is now less busy and more akin to the mobile app.
The move is in part linked to plans by Netflix to end the reporting of subscriber numbers, moving instead to the amount of time that viewers stay engaged with the service.
While Netflix routinely tests new features to a subset of its subscriber base, not all devices will benefit when it is rolled out more widely. It’s emerged that Netflix is dropping support for the ten-year old second and third generation Apple TV boxes.
Source: https://www.broadbandtvnews.com/2024/06/10/netflix-begins-upgrade-to-tv-app/