Netflix Rolling Out Real-Time Voting for Live Content in January

As Netflix pushes forward with more live programming, the streamer is looking for ways to make those events more interactive. Netflix’s CTO tells TechCrunch that viewers will be able to vote in real-time when watching a live event. The feature will be a key part of the rebooted “Star Search” talent competition in January.

“If you’re sitting at home watching ‘Star Search’ on your TV, you’ll be able to either on the TV or your mobile phone actually put in a vote that advances or doesn’t advance some of the contestants on the show,” Elizabeth Stone said on TechCrunch Disrupt’s main stage today. “So it’s just a very early starting example of the ways that we think content can be more interactive over time, across devices, between TV and mobile, where a member who subscribes to Netflix can actually feel like they’re part of the story, influence the storyline, and feel immersed in that.”

Viewers will see the voting option on screen for a brief time during an event. If you’re not watching live, you may not be able to weigh in.

Netflix has previously tested polls and voting with shows like “Too Hot to Handle” and “Love is Blind.”

The company has dabbled with various interactive stories in the past. “Black Mirror: Bandersnatch” was an especially ambitious Choose Your Own Adventure-style story that often ended in a bleak outcome for the character you control. “Escape the Undertaker” was another story with user-controlled branching storylines. Oddly, Netflix has since pulled all its interactive shows off the service.

In their earnings interview last week, Netflix leaders referred to their games 17 times.

“We’re rolling out this holiday season a slate of party games on TV. It’s great for the whole family when you’re in front of the TV. All you need is a TV and your phone as a controller,” said Co-CEO Greg Peters. “(We have games) like Boggle Party, Pictionary Game Night, LEGO Party, Tetris. We’ve got Party Crashers, which is a social deception game. And the part that I like most about this is these games are super easy to access.”

While Netflix is in the lead among streaming services, it’s also fighting a never-ending battle against YouTube and mindless phone scrolling. Time will tell whether these innovations drive engagement and subscriptions or, like “Bandersnatch,” they’re due to become another tiny footnote in Netflix history.

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