Here’s How Netflix Figured Out 40 Million People Watched ‘YOU’

Yesterday, Netflix dropped a major bomb when it announced that stalker drama YOU is “on track to be watched by more than 40 million members in its first four weeks” on the platform. Netflix is notoriously quiet about its viewership statistics, so it was doubly (triply?) shocking when it then announced that new series Sex Education is also “on pace to be watched by over 40 million accounts over its first month” and Spanish drama Elite “attracted more than 20 million households during its first four weeks on the service.” There’s no denying that these are staggering figures, but they don’t mean much without some clarification. How long do people have to watch something before it counts in Netflix’s stats? How is Netflix measuring these metrics?

Amid all this uncertainty, Netflix is finally stepping in to clear some things up. According to a company representative who spoke with Entertainment Weekly, a “view” is counted any time someone watches more than 70 percent of a movie’s total runtime (including credits). Even though many accounts “include multiple views and viewers,” each account “is only counted once” in Netflix’s statistics. Essentially, if you loved Bird Box and watched it seven times, you will still only count as one figure in the film’s 80 million-plus views.

Netflix measures TV shows slightly differently. The spokesperson told EW that due to series’ “highly variable length,” Netflix counts viewers who complete at least 70 percent of one episode. In the case of YOU, Sex Education, and Elite, that means you only have to watch 70 percent of one episode within the show’s first four weeks to be counted in the statistics Netflix boasted above. Even if you streamed only the pilot of each show, never to return again, you’re still counted in Netflix’s metrics.

Additionally, Netflix measures views on the account level, not the profile level. If you share your Netflix account with multiple people and everyone has watched a specific show or movie — even from their own profiles — Netflix will only count it as one view. For example, I share a Netflix account with my family, and I watched Bird Box from my own profile, but my brother also watched Bird Box from his profile. Despite watching it at totally different times in totally different states, Netflix will only count one Bird Box view from our account.

All this is to say that Netflix’s viewership numbers may actually be even larger than they claim — a slightly horrifying thought. Considering that password sharing, family plans, and re-watches are so prevalent, it’s possible that more than 40 million people have watched YOU since it first hit the platform in late December. And let’s be honest: when it comes to YOU, you’re not just watching 70 percent of one episode. You’re binge-watching the whole damn thing in one weekend. Can we get those stats next, Netflix?

Watch YOU on Netflix