Mr. Seger said the cancellation of one of his favorite shows, “Boston Legal,” in 2008 inspired him to start Parrot five years later. After analyzing the two longest-running streamers, Netflix and Hulu, he found a close correlation between “demand expressions” and the number of new subscribers they have taken on, he said. For Netflix, Parrot has captured subscriber growth within 3 percent of the actual total. For Hulu, it was within 1 percent.
“When the two happen with high correlation, we get to uncover possible hidden acquisition and retention mechanisms that are useful to make investment and business decisions,” Mr. Seger said.
Nielsen ratings measure the number of viewers for a show, and the broadcast networks still rely on the service to set ad rates and determine the worth of their programming. In recent years, Nielsen has started using audio recognition software to measure the audiences for streaming programs. Netflix has sometimes disputed that data.
In a statement, a Nielsen executive said the company’s clients “place more value in who is actually viewing streaming content,” adding that “subscriber counts paint an incomplete picture.”
Original programming tends to attract new subscribers, according to Mr. Seger. That means “The Witcher” is more valuable to a platform than “Friends,” the enduring sitcom that recently moved its streaming home to HBO Max from Netflix. New shows bring in new customers; old shows, with their potential for comfort viewing, keep subscribers from leaving, Mr. Seger said.
Parrot says it also offers metrics to quantify a show’s “rate of decay,” or shelf life, as well as its “travelability,” its potential appeal in various regions.
Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/08/business/media/parrot-streaming-ratings.html
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