Netflix is quietly reviving several old habits as it navigates a maturing streaming market, including bringing back free trials in some international markets and reducing how often it discloses viewership data. The moves, disclosed alongside its latest earnings report, suggest the company is prioritising flexibility to experiment and take risks without close external scrutiny, echoing its historic pattern of reversing course when strategies such as advertising or live sport initially seemed unappealing before later being embraced.

Free trials, dropped in 2020, are returning in select markets outside the US, as first reported by What's On Netflix. Netflix also confirmed it will now share detailed show viewership figures only once a year rather than twice, having only begun the more frequent disclosures in December 2023. Alongside this, the company is testing a range of new content formats, including YouTube-style shows, video podcasts, live broadcast channels and cloud gaming, while co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters described a cautious, gradual approach to expansion, including bundling deals such as its recent tie-up with France's TF1 and openness to similar partnerships elsewhere.