Netflix sign up to an individual TV rating agency for the first time

Netflix has signed up with Barb, a TV rating agency, which means its audience will be measured by an independent, external body for the first time.

The move of Netflix makes Barb the first industry-owned rating service in the world that the streaming platform has joined. Previously, Netflix has only released snapshots of its viewing data by highlighting the success of its most popular shows. From November Barb will begin reporting viewing figures for Netflix. It is an important move for the streamer. This will help the platform to see the data being used by competitors, journalists, and advertisers to ascertain the failure or success of Netflix properties.

Barb stands for Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. The agency compiles audience measurement and TV ratings in the UK. The company will report the ratings of Netflix in the same way it reports the viewing of more than 300 other subscribing broadcast channels. Barb currently covers mainstream services such as ITV and BBC as well as smaller channels like Dave and E4.

The news of Netflix signing up to Barb comes as it reportedly prepares to launch an ad-supported tier. From the morning of 2nd November, Netflix viewing data will be available to all Barb subscribers through its existing analysis software and other systems.