Netflix Testing Human-Curated 'Collections' Recommendations

Netflix is working on curation from real, honest-to-goodness humans, taking a break from algorithms for all of its show suggestions, as seen by testing by the streaming giant.

"If you're involved in the A/B test, you'll see a pop-up the next time you open Netflix. It takes the place of the 'My List' queue at the top of the app, which some subscribers might not appreciate. (My List is still accessible in the 'More' tab)," The Verge reported on Friday.

It is testing expert-crafted "Collections" that, much like music playlists, offer selections based around certain themes for only iOS at the moment.

The company also reportedly said that there was no guarantee whether it would be available for all users globally.

They "may or may not become permanent features", a spokesperson was quoted as saying by the TechCrunch.

"Collections" also get a bit of real estate on the main browsing menu, though not nearly as much as the usual carousels for trending content and Netflix's signature, overly specific rows of stuff it thinks you'll like -- such as the "Critically-acclaimed workplace TV shows" one in my app right now, the report added.

Netflix and other over-the-top (OTT) platforms are slowly but steadily eating the cable TV business, a new KPMG report said earlier this week, adding that there was a decline of nearly 12-15 million active subscribers for the cable & satellite (C&S) universe in the fourth quarter (Q4) of the financial year 2019.

Subscription revenues grew at a modest 8.1 percent in FY19 to reach Rs. 463 billion, with the NTO implementation hiccups costing growth in the last quarter.