7 Problems With Netflix Nobody Wants To Admit

3. The Rating System Is Flawed At Best

Netflix Thumbs Up
Netflix

Netflix's old rating system, which was on a 5 star scale, wasn't exactly the best. It was misunderstood by many people, since the stars weren't what the average of what everyone had rated the show or movie, but rather what the Netflix algorithm calculated you would rate it. So there'd be a movie you might hate, but it'd have a five star rating, or a movie you'd love with just one star.

Netflix realised this wasn't perfect, and earlier this year switched to a thumbs-up/thumbs-down system. Unfortunately this still hasn't fixed all the problems. while it does pair it with a new matching system, there's not a lot of information to be held within a thumb - is it the best movie ever, the worst, something mildly liked/disliked, or bang average? It's hard to know.

It's not really easy to figure out the matching system either, because most things appear to be matched very highly - the majority are 90% plus. The lowest I've found so far on my own account is Horrible Histories, with 67% (a show I happen to think is very good). The Big Bang Theory, meanwhile, gets 97%. Come on, Netflix.

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Contributor
Contributor

NCTJ-qualified journalist. Most definitely not a racing driver. Drink too much tea; eat too much peanut butter; watch too much TV. Sadly only the latter paying off so far. A mix of wise-old man in a young man's body with a child-like wonder about him and a great otherworldly sensibility.