The change is coming in phases: Netflix will no longer allow viewers to post reviews of movies and TV shows on its website by the end of July before it ditches all existing user reviews by mid-August.
Early last year, Netflix dropped the star rating system for gauging viewer feedback on movies and TV shows on the streaming service and switched to the thumbs-up and thumbs-down method. The move was due to what the company described as a dwindling relevance of the star-based method. Now, Netflix’s feedback system is in for another revamp.
CNET reports that the over-the-top media services provider is planning to disable the submission of user-written reviews by the end of July and remove existing user reviews entirely from its website by mid-August. The review system is exclusive on desktop computers only, allowing users to post and read reviews of a particular movie or TV show on Netflix.
Netflix representative Smita Saran told CNET that the company already notified users about the imminent change to the service’s feedback system. The reason behind the move is the review system’s «declining usage over time,» according to Netflix. User reviews are visible only on the service’s website and have no bearing on how Netflix offers content recommendations to viewers, the company said.
It is, perhaps, worth pointing out that the current thumbs-up and thumbs-down system will stay in place after the change as it is not dependent on the online reviews.
Source: CNET
