Netflix just pulled the ultimate power move. We’re breaking that down in today’s big story.

• Markets: Get ready for the Fed’s last big decision of 2023.
• Tech: Video shows a Tesla Cybertruck getting towed in the snow by a Ford.
• Business: Resy’s bungled year-in review for users.

For the first time, Netflix released viewership data for almost all of its portfolio. The report, which represents more than 18,000 titles and covers some 100 billion viewing hours, ranked the streaming service’s most-watched shows and movies for the first half of 2023.

Netflix has teased us with data before through releases of top 10 lists, but this is different. In the latest report, there’s a whole bunch of information for cinephiles to sink their teeth into.

It’s in stark contrast to the seemingly tight-lipped company of days gone. Netflix has been criticized in the past over a lack of transparency, which was a thorny issue in this year’s strikes by Hollywood writers and actors.

However, Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos said on Tuesday the data dump was not in direct response to the strikes. Instead, he suggested it was part of a more general shift toward increasing transparency.

That may be so, but the report will also help attract ad dollars and turn up the heat on other streamers — especially when shows like “The Night Agent” can log a mouthwatering 812 million viewing hours. The data release was, in many ways, a classic Hollywood power move.

Although the report is nearly comprehensive, it isn’t without caveats. For example, by measuring total hours viewed, results are skewed toward longer movies and shows with more episodes

Perhaps I’m just bitter because none of my favorite shows made the rankings.

I just hope they didn’t end up among the thousands of titles that most Netflix users don’t watch.

🔔 Before the opening bell: US stock futures rise early Wednesday as investors await the Fed’s latest policy decision.

2. ‘Tis the season for hedge fund profits. Let’s turn the spotlight on Ken Griffin’s Citadel, which is outperforming its hedge fund peers. Citadel will hand out $7 billion in profits to its investors, per the WSJ. The hedge fund’s flagship fund returned almost 15% this year, while hedge funds overall only averaged returns of 4.35%.

3. Steve Ballmer’s big Microsoft payday. The former CEO is on pace to earn $1 billion in dividends annually from his massive stake in the software company, which soared to a value of $128 billion this year. (And while we’re here, save this for your next break: a look at nine of his zaniest moments, including that time he danced to Fergie.)

2. Travis Kalanick’s $15 billion startup has robots coming in now. At a recent CloudKitchens all-hands, Kalanick said the robots won’t unionize or quit. He added that their pronouns are bit/byte.

3. Video shows a Cybertruck getting towed by a Ford pickup. Tesla’s electric pickup truck appears to have gotten stuck on an off-road trail. In the video, the Cybertruck’s wheels kept spinning in a snow-covered field.

2. SmileDirectClub customers are fuming. The invisible-aligners company is shutting down after filing for bankruptcy protection. But customers still have unfinished business: Incomplete treatments. Outstanding bills. No more customer care support.

3. Resy’s version of Spotify Wrapped went horribly wrong. The reservation company tried creating a personalized year-end review for users in the style of Spotify’s popular recap. But a coding error prevented users from actually seeing their recaps.

• This wave of messy, high-profile divorces may be a sign of bigger social shifts to come.
• Alabama is going to use gas to execute someone, but corrections officials warned it could hurt other people in the room.
• Elon Musk’s Starlink is booming, with traffic almost tripling this year.
• This chart shows a key reason why millennial parents are miserable.
• Do you shower with your face or back to the water?
• US millennial women are now more likely to die in their late 20s and early 30s than any generation since the World War II era: report.

• The Fed is scheduled to announce its interest rate decision. Afterwards, the Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will share economic projections.
• “Madonna: The Celebration Tour” will begin its North America leg. It’ll kick off at the Barclays Center in New York.
• Earnings today: Adobe, Dollarama, and other companies.

Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York City. Diamond Naga Siu, senior reporter, in San Diego. Hallam Bullock, editor, in London. Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York City.

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