Data is everything, even in Hollywood.

From American Public Media, this is Marketplace Tech.

I'm Lili Dramalli.

One of my favorite shows growing up was the NBC sitcom Cheers, which featured a washed

up baseball player turned bartender, a spunky waitress, and all the regulars who hung out

at the bar.

By the end of its 11 season run in 1993, Cheers was getting 26 million viewers a week.

Back then, we knew a lot about how our favorite shows performed, but that kind of information

from streamers is harder to come by now.

It was a sticking point in the recent five-month writer strike.

WGA members have until next week to ratify a new contract with studios, which includes

access to data, like total hours streamed.

But even that metric isn't enough, says Brandon Katz, strategist at Parrot Analytics, who

explained why data matter so much.

In general, transparency in terms of performance measurement is so important to creators

because it gives them real-time understanding of how their show is or isn't succeeding

and with whom or who it's not resonating with.

It allows them to make weeks as the show continues to develop to in order to a potentially

grow its audience after identifying its core audience.

And from a financial standpoint, it gives them a vested interest in the show's performance.

So one thing that the streaming era has brought about, kind of the Netflix model that really

started when Netflix got into original programming, is buying out the back end of shows and movies.

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