• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, Yesterday

Program discovery continues to be a headache for some TV content channels and streamers -- so much so that Netflix has decided to have a bit of fun with it, tongue-in-cheek style.

Netflix is giving subscribers the options of using their astrology sign to figure out what they should watch.

The new feature, called “Your Zodiac Watchlist,” will offer up recommended movies and TV shows. And no, don’t worry... Netflix doesn’t know your birthday. (At least not yet, anyway!)

Netflix says its team has curated content for its members to find something new and different, “something fresh, fun, and timely.”

Still, now that Netflix has other -- perhaps more straightforward -- ways to figure out what you might like to watch, considering what their server data tells them about those in your household or those who are attached to your account.

Netflix, of course, is looking for ways to improve the amount of daily time subscribers spend with their platform -- which already is at the highest levels versus other streaming platforms. Somewhat troubling for some analysts is that Netflix's average daily viewing time per subscriber has flattened over recent periods.

Some analysts estimate that average subscriber viewing declined 6% to 1.4 hours per day in the first six months of 2025, down from 1.5 hours a day in the second half of 2024.

At the same time, total viewing hours have inched up by 1% to 94 billion, looking at the January-June 2024 period. To an extent, this accounts for rising subscribers, driven by addressing tougher password-sharing issues.

To be sure, Netflix continues to see steady or strong growth. It is now at an 8.8% share of total TV viewing time, as per Nielsen’s recent July reading of the market -- up from an 8.4% share during the same period a year ago.

In the meantime, Netflix hopes to become a bit more personalized for its members -- so they will be pitched to some general assumptions based on a member sign.

For example, Scorpios are “passionate, charismatic, seductive and mysterious,” so mysteries like “Wednesday” and “The Night Agent” would be suggested.

Leos are thought to be “confident, generous and loyal," so it is suggested that content like “The Crown” and “Bridgerton” would work for them.

Me? I’m a Taurus. Google Gemini says that means stubbornness and loyalty, and appreciation of sensual pleasures. So I’m thinking the Netflix show “Nobody Wants This” would be about right.

It’s about an agnostic sex podcaster and a newly single rabbi who fall in love.