The Netflix Originals team is discussing: should we expand Netflix original content genres or focus on proven categories?

Introduction

The Netflix Originals team is facing a critical decision: should we expand into new content genres or focus on proven categories? This trade-off involves balancing the potential for growth and innovation against the reliability of established success. I'll analyze this question through the lens of product strategy, user impact, and business objectives.

Step 1

Clarifying Questions (3 minutes)

• Context: I'm thinking about our current content portfolio mix. Could you share the percentage breakdown of our original content across different genres?

Why it matters: Helps understand our starting point and potential saturation in certain categories. Expected answer: A diverse mix with some genres dominating (e.g., 30% drama, 20% comedy). Impact on approach: A highly skewed portfolio might suggest a need for diversification.

• Business Context: Based on our recent earnings, I'm assuming original content is a key driver for subscriber growth. How does original content performance correlate with our subscriber acquisition and retention metrics?

Why it matters: Establishes the business case for investing in originals. Expected answer: Strong positive correlation, especially for certain genres. Impact on approach: Would influence the weight given to potential subscriber impact in our decision.

• User Impact: Considering our global audience, I'm curious about regional content preferences. Do we see significant variations in genre popularity across different markets?

Why it matters: Informs whether a global or localized content strategy is more appropriate. Expected answer: Some universal appeal, but notable regional differences. Impact on approach: Might lead to a hybrid strategy of global and local content expansion.

• Technical: Given our recommendation algorithm's importance, I'm wondering about its adaptability. How quickly can our system learn and effectively recommend content from new genres?

Why it matters: Affects the speed at which new content categories can gain traction. Expected answer: The algorithm is adaptable but requires a certain volume of user data. Impact on approach: Could influence the pace and scale of genre expansion.

• Resource: Thinking about our production capabilities, what's our current capacity for developing new genres versus scaling existing ones?

Why it matters: Determines the feasibility of expansion from a production standpoint. Expected answer: Some flexibility, but significant expansion would require additional resources. Impact on approach: Would impact the timeline and scope of any expansion efforts.