Is there a post somewhere where they describe this?
But the comment by refurb sounds a bit misleading. As I understand it, they did not produce this solely because of the data (as if the show was born out of the data). The idea, the actors, and the production staff were already chosen before Netflix's involvement. Netflix looked at those things as they had been proposed and realized it was a good gamble to bid on the show.
I know the script originated from the British series, but don't they usually only select actors after they have funding? I'm not that familiar with the process, so I may be wrong.
"MRC approached different networks about the series, including HBO, Showtime and AMC, but Netflix, hoping to launch its own original programming, outbid the other networks. Ted Sarandos, Netflix's Chief Content Officer, looked at the data of Netflix user's streaming habits and concluded that there was an audience for Fincher and Spacey."
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Cards_%28U.S._TV_serie...)
See the sources linked in those paragraphs, where those statements are summarized from.