The future of Netflix

Netflix recently has rolled out measures to ban people from using proxies to access their service. What this means for the service’s customers is that you are effectively confined to watching what is available in your own country. This is an issue for subscribers basically anywhere except the US where the catalogue of available material is vastly superior. It remains to be seen, however, whether this was the right decision for them. Immediately after the announcement, there was the expected internet outrage with people saying this move was ludicrous and that they would be cancelling their subscriptions. This, of course, quickly subsided. But the issue at the heart of the dissent remains; is it still worth having a Netflix subscription?

Netflix topped the end of 2015 with almost 75 million subscribers, dwarfing its rivals, Amazon Prime and Hulu Plus. One could easily, however, expect a drop in subscriptions after effectively offering less for every customer. This move came as the result of increasing pressure from the traditional TV companies (mainly in the US) that have been trying to stifle Netflix’s growing popularity by restricting its access to many of their shows. HBO has notably been doing this, now offering its own streaming service HBOGo in direct competition. However, it remains only available in the US, opting to instead sell their library of shows to international broadcasters: to Sky in the case of the UK. There is also the effect of so many more streaming services opening, with exclusivity contracts. With this diluting what is available on each, and making each of them a lesser value for money, it could be that we are reaching the end of a golden age on television streaming where so much was available at such low cost.

Netflix’s pre-emptive response to this has been to funnel huge amounts of money into their original programming, with their Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos claiming that they’re “releasing more shows in the next quarter than many networks will in a whole year”. 2015 saw their first foray into feature length films, with Beasts of No Nation and Adam Sandler’s Ridiculous 6 as well as going into more traditional, family friendly content with the sitcom Fuller House. Alongside this, their returning shows like House of Cards and Orange is the New Black remain huge pop culture phenomena. Their documentary series Making a Murderer spawned the biggest crop of armchair detectives since the OJ Simpson trial and they’ve managed to finesse their way into the Marvel Cinematic Universe with the critically acclaimed Daredevil and Jessica Jones, with at least three more related series to follow in the next few years. It is clear that, as the only shows guaranteed to be available worldwide on their service, this growing library of originals will be vital to their success going forward. It is therefore likely no coincidence that the proxy blocking came in so close to the release of season four of House of Cards and season two of Daredevil.

While the range of content in the UK catalogue is by no means lacking, there are some glaring omissions when comparing to the American catalogue. Notably among them, Friends, which arrived last year in its entirety with great fanfare. There is also a huge deficit and lack of consistency in available films with confusing and frustrating choices like Kill Bill Volume 2 being available but Volume 1 not. Despite all this, it is my opinion that Netflix still offers enough to justify the £5.99 a month subscription and those savvy enough are likely to still be able to find a proxy that will allow them to watch anything they like.