Netflix knows you’re looking at your phone—and it’s changing how shows get made because of it

According to reports, Netflix seems to be optimizing at least some of its original content for background viewing.

Watching TV no longer just means watching TV. After the rise of tablets and smartphones in the late aughts, a second-screen experience became the new standard for home viewing. Live-blogging the latest season of Netflix’s Stranger Things, or buying a new T-shirt during it, is now just reflexive for millions of people. According to a 2023 YouGov study, 91% of Americans at least sometimes look at their phones while watching TV. For generations weaned on TikTok, that “sometimes” might be a little closer to “always.” As Saturday Night Live’s Michael Longfellow recently joked about the app’s brief ban: “What do I even watch during a movie now?”