Netflix has started to roll out its first major redesign in a decade for its television app, where it will test changes that will reportedly assist viewers with deciding what to watch quickly.
The homepage has been updated to include enlarged title cards, a reorganisation of information, and to highlight easy-to-read pieces, such as a movie / show “spent 8 weeks in the top 10.”
The menu button has also been moved from the left to the top of the screen, and a new ‘My Netflix’ tab has been added, which will house movies / shows a user has started watching, as well as ones saved to view later.
Research conducted by the company revealed what executive Pat Flemming calls “eye gymnastics.” This is where a user looks around at various parts of the home screen, trying to find something to watch.
Viewers’ eyes dart from “the row name to today’s top picks, to the box art, to the video, back to the synopsis,” said Flemming. “We really wanted to make that simpler, more intuitive, everything easier to navigate.”
The changes were made available to a subset of the company’s almost 270 million users globally and comes as Netflix is attempting to increase the time viewers spend on the app.
“If this goes well, which we are enthusiastic and hope that it will, then we would love to share this with most of the member base in the coming months and quarters.”
This is in an effort to retain customers and bring in new subscribers.
Netflix will take feedback and could make more changes before unveiling it even further.
Next year, the company will stop regular reporting of subscriber numbers but will continue to offer personalised suggestions to each user.
No changes will be made to the company’s recommendation algorithm.
