Don’t have enough time to binge watch Unbelievable and The Politician? Netflix might have come up with a solution to that. The streaming giant is experimenting with a feature that lets viewers watch content at up to 1.5 times the usual speed. Currently, the feature is only available on Android phones. And it’s unclear if it’s going to be rolled out further.
In a statement from the company on Monday, Netflix said, ‘We’re always experimenting with new ways to help members use Netflix.’
While some might be delighted that they may be able to whizz through old episodes of Friends, there are obvious concerns from creators and directors.
Judd Apatow, the director of Trainwrecked and Knocked Up, who co-created the Netflix series Love, tweeted his concerns yesterday. ‘Don’t make me have to call every director and show creator on Earth to fight you on this,’ he wrote. ‘Save me the time. I will win but it will take a ton of time. Don’t fuck with our timing. We give you nice things. Leave them as they were intended to be seen.’
Brad Bird, whose films include The Incredibles and Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, added on Twitter that it was a 'spectacularly bad idea’.
Breaking Bad star Aaron Paul added, 'There is NO WAY Netflix will move forward with this. That would mean they are completely taking control of everyone else’s art and destroying it. Netflix is far better than that. Am I right Netflix?'
Podcasts and YouTube videos can already be sped up, so it looks like Netflix are following suit to see if the feature will work on their platform.
Last year, the service started experimenting with interactive content, where viewers could choose their own endings to stories. This was kickstarted by Bandersnatch, a feature length episode of Black Mirror, which has five main endings.
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