After years of denial, Netflix has finally released viewing figures for virtually all titles

Netflix has officially released viewership figures for virtually all of its series and films.

Netflix presented its inaugural «What We Watched» report on Tuesday, ranking virtually all of its episodes and movies by the number of hours watched in the previous six months. Netflix stated that it will offer revised reports every six months.

Netflix has a long history of being secretive about the popularity of its series and movies. This has resulted in some mistrust among creators, as co-CEO Ted Sarandos admitted on a conference call with reporters on Tuesday. Sarandos explained that Netflix kept its viewing data secret as it grew its company so that it could experiment without disclosing data to potential competitors.

Netflix has about 250 million global customers, considerably outnumbering any other streaming provider. Sarandos now feels comfortable disclosing viewing figures. During their strikes earlier this year, Hollywood performers and writers both emphasized more transparency as they sought to be paid based on how people consumed their material. Netflix has also introduced an advertising tier that requires greater openness, since businesses want to know how frequently specific episodes and movies are watched.

Netflix disclosed viewership data for over 18,000 titles, accounting for 99% of all viewing and all titles watched for more than 50,000 hours.