Following Amazon Prime’s decision to introduce offline viewing last autumn, major player Netflix has said it will ‘keep an open mind’ about following suit in the not-too-distant future, reports tech and culture magazine Wired.
As a steadfast online streaming site, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings has been continually resolute on his dismissal of making download options available to subscribers. In 2014, in fact, he said that the feature was ‘never going to happen.’
Yet the company seems to have turned a full 180, following the upgrade from their main competitor in the market and, quite possibly, increased demand from paying customers. Particularly for Netflix users who travel a lot, the ability to download their favourite films and series’ before going away would mean they didn’t have to wrestle with differing network circumstances from country to country. And with the monthly subscription cost for legacy users – that is, those that have been using the service since it’s UK launch in 2012 – set to rise to £7.49, why should they have to look elsewhere to access the content they want?
Netflix is marketed as a one-stop pit stop for all your television viewing needs – but if you’re having a dodgy internet day (we’ve all been there) are are travelling abroad, a £7.49 subscription isn’t enough to see you through the night: I’ve had evenings recently when I’ve literally gone to bed at 7.30pm because I can’t get Narcos to load.
But don’t rejoice just yet, fellow flix-ers. Hastings hasn’t made any grandiose promises just yet:
‘We should keep an open mind about this,’ he told Wired. ‘We’ve been so focused on click-and-watch and the beauty and simplicity of streaming, but as we expand around the world, where we see an uneven set of networks, it’s something we should keep an open mind about.’
Fingers crossed we won't have to take our custom over to Amazon...
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.