---
title: The economics of Netflix’s buttons
description: Buttons may be simple things, but their impacts are far from it.
---

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# [The economics of Netflix’s buttons](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/04142022-netflix-buttons)

 Written by [Jacob Cohen](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/author/jacob-cohen) | Apr 14, 2022 10:47:04 AM

On Monday, Netflix released a “Two Thumbs Up” button — allowing users to indicate when they *really* like something — after nearly a year of testing.

Netflix buttons like these may seem simple, but their backstories and impacts are far from it — especially for 2. Let’s discuss.

#### **On your average day…**

… Netflix’s “Skip Intro” button is pressed [**136m**](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/looking-back-on-the-origin-of-skip-intro-five-years-later) times. Add it up, and **195** cumulative years are saved by skipping intros daily.

Oddly enough, the idea came ~6 years ago when Cameron Jonhson, director of product innovation at Netflix, was watching “Game of Thrones.”

For the uninitiated, the “Game of Thrones” [title sequence](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7L2PVdrb_8&t=2s) is beautiful, but long AF. (Napkin math: The ~2-minute intro accounts for ~4% of episodes’ total lengths in season one.)

Johnson sometimes skipped ahead, though often made the painful error of skipping too far.

#### **And he wasn’t alone**

His team discovered that Netflix viewers were also manually skipping ahead in the first 5 minutes of shows **15%** of the time.

After running tests and landing on “Skip Intro” as the name, reviews were phenomenal. One Netflix engineer quipped, “I’m not sure that if you put a button that said ‘free cupcake’ that it would get more clicks.”

Netflix formally added Skip Intro to TV in 2017.

#### **The other button…**

… is the Netflix button itself, that with one touch sounds the *budummmm* and propels you into Netflixland.

On Jan. 4, 2011, when Netflix had just [**16m**](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/streaming-from-netflix-will-soon-be-even-more-convenient-with-netflix-one-click-remotes-introduced-by-major-consumer-electronics-makers-112860669.html) members in North America, the company announced a partnership to place the button smack-dab in the middle of many TV remotes.

- **For Netflix**, it meant every time people saw a remote, they were either reminded how easily they could use Netflix or that they weren’t a member.
- **For TV manufacturers**, it meant payments from Netflix. Given the win-win, nowadays it’s common practice and costs [**~$1**](https://www.protocol.com/2021-tv-remote-branded-button)** **per remote.

Speaking of buttons, we want to know — [**what’s your favorite?**](https://forms.gle/RGyvzxrFfuuJ1E6NA)

[View full post](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/04142022-netflix-buttons)

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