# Why is Netflix giving fewer More Like This suggestions? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 8, 2016, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-netflix-giving-fewer-more-like-this-suggestions/751515 "2016-04-08T02:55:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-netflix-giving-fewer-more-like-this-suggestions/751515/1 "2016-04-08T02:55:29Z")
It used to be that when I was looking at a movie or TV episode description page, the entire bottom row would be filled with “More Like This” suggestions. I can’t recall how many—perhaps eight or so? But the last few months, I’ve noticed that I only get three “More Like This” suggestions on any particular description page. Why would that be? I find a big share of new things to watch from “More Like This” ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-netflix-giving-fewer-more-like-this-suggestions/751515/2 "2016-04-08T03:07:19Z")
Because you’re watching weird shit and there aren’t many more things like it? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-netflix-giving-fewer-more-like-this-suggestions/751515/3 "2016-04-08T03:33:14Z")
No. That’s not it. It gives only three no matter what. And before it offered a whole row no matter what. ---
**Author:** ![Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tired_and_Cranky)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-netflix-giving-fewer-more-like-this-suggestions/751515/4 "2016-04-08T16:20:39Z")
I’m speculating, but it seems like their streaming movie catalog is shrinking and they are focusing on TV shows. There were probably fewer decent, relevant movies or shows for them to show in each “More like this” category so now they just show three instead of highlighting the paucity of their offerings. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-netflix-giving-fewer-more-like-this-suggestions/751515/5 "2016-04-08T17:24:20Z")
Maybe they’ve decided you’re a hater? ---
**Author:** ![NeonMadman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/58f4c7/32.png) [@NeonMadman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NeonMadman)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-netflix-giving-fewer-more-like-this-suggestions/751515/6 "2016-04-08T18:56:32Z")
I never found the “More Like This” suggestions to be particularly useful anyway. They tended to present programming that was related to what you were watching in only the most tangential of ways. You could be watching a horror film and they would show you a romantic comedy or a cop film, provided there was at least one actor in common. Or you could be watching a classic gangster movie, and they’d show you grade-D gangster films that you would never want to see unless you were having a fit of masochism, or perhaps documentaries about gangland figures. Basically, I’ve just ignored their suggestions and looked at online listings for new programming coming to Netflix, or else just searched their own listings to find interesting stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-netflix-giving-fewer-more-like-this-suggestions/751515/7 "2016-04-08T19:18:42Z")
The more you use their algorithm, the more refined the search is going to be. There’s no sense in listing a bunch of movies you’re not going to click on. ---
**Author:** ![OffByOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/45deac/32.png) [@OffByOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OffByOne)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-netflix-giving-fewer-more-like-this-suggestions/751515/8 "2016-04-08T20:12:32Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > The more you use their algorithm, the more refined the search is going to be. There’s no sense in listing a bunch of movies you’re not going to click on. And yet, that’s exactly what they do to me. On my home page in Netflix, there are always three or four rows titled “Because you watched X.” That might have more meaning if I had watched more than one episode of X. If they wanted to make that category meaningful, they would call it “Because you watched X once, and never again.” ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-netflix-giving-fewer-more-like-this-suggestions/751515/9 "2016-04-08T22:53:06Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > The more you use their algorithm, the more refined the search is going to be. There’s no sense in listing a bunch of movies you’re not going to click on. Then they should stop showing me Gay And Lesbian movies, but they never do. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2016, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-netflix-giving-fewer-more-like-this-suggestions/751515/10 "2016-04-09T21:33:02Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > The more you use their algorithm, the more refined the search is going to be. There’s no sense in listing a bunch of movies you’re not going to click on. Don’t think so. No matter what I have tried, they keep recommending completely random unrelated crap. I doubt they have ever once got close to a suggestion that would was suitable. I just want the suggestion stuff to go away entirely with an option setting. Lot’s of people have requested this. Netflix ignores us, of course. (Except to annoyingly urge us to do a bunch of clicking to improve the matches. Egad, talk about totally missing the point.) ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2016, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-netflix-giving-fewer-more-like-this-suggestions/751515/11 "2016-04-10T10:41:01Z")
> [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](#): > > I’m speculating, but it seems like their streaming movie catalog is shrinking and they are focusing on TV shows. There were probably fewer decent, relevant movies or shows for them to show in each “More like this” category so now they just show three instead of highlighting the paucity of their offerings. This might be the real answer. Checking my Netflix DVD account right now, clicking any given movie shows 10 different “More Like [this]” recommendations. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2016, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-netflix-giving-fewer-more-like-this-suggestions/751515/12 "2016-04-10T13:39:31Z")
Just to be clear, I’m accessing Netflix streaming on my Apple TV. I don’t know if that makes a difference. I don’t think the emphasis on TV shows as opposed to movies can be the crucial factor here. (1) because the situation is not and was not different between TV shows and movies before, and (2) the “More Like This” recommendations were not limited to movies for movies and TV shows for TV shows. ---
**Author:** ![Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tired_and_Cranky)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2016, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-netflix-giving-fewer-more-like-this-suggestions/751515/13 "2016-04-11T17:25:44Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Just to be clear, I’m accessing Netflix streaming on my Apple TV. I don’t know if that makes a difference. > > I don’t think the emphasis on TV shows as opposed to movies can be the crucial factor here. (1) because the situation is not and was not different between TV shows and movies before, and (2) the “More Like This” recommendations were not limited to movies for movies and TV shows for TV shows. The app probably makes a difference. When I mentioned them focusing on TV, the issue is that they used to license X movies with a handful of TV shows thrown in. Now, because they emphasize TV, they license, let’s say, X/5 movies, which they supplement with TV shows. But they only added, let’s say, X/10 TV shows, because each show probably offers ten or twenty of fifty times the viewing of a single movie. So whereas the “more like this” used to be based on X movies plus some TV shows, it’s now based on a total of 3X/10 movies and TV shows. If these wild-assed guesses are right, they have less than 1/3 the possible suggestions to offer in each “more like this” category. If they didn’t make the “more like this” suggestions list smaller, they’d run the risk of showing you the same movies and TV shows in each list which helps you realize they really are just pushing the same old crap in different wrappers. ---
**Author:** ![Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tired_and_Cranky)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2016, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-netflix-giving-fewer-more-like-this-suggestions/751515/14 "2016-09-26T15:19:37Z")
I’m bumping this thread because I just saw an article online that confirms both that Netflix has a smaller catalog now and that their catalog seems more focused on TV shows: According to one site ([http://www.doddlenews.com/television-news/netflix-evolving-towards-more-original-content/](http://www.doddlenews.com/television-news/netflix-evolving-towards-more-original-content/)), Netflix’s streaming movie catalog shrank by 1/3 and its TV catalog shrank 1/4 between Jan. 2014 and March 2016.