Is Netflix dying?

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Thibault Penin

It’s no longer Netflix and chill, it’s Netflix and bill.

Tanner Kannan, Staff Writer

Netflix has always been the streaming service for families, no matter how far apart they may be. However, Netflix plans to cut the cord on family connection with their upcoming password sharing policies. 

Netflix has spent many years trying to figure out ways to crack down on password sharing, however, this may be the year they finally put a policy in place. In the first week of February, an update was made to Netflix’s United States Help Center Page which showed information previously applicable to only Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru. This information was a policy against password sharing that would prevent anyone located at a different IP than the main home’s address from using the account after about a week. Although it hasn’t been launched everywhere, the company has stated that they ultimately plan to make the policy worldwide. 

Netflix believes that they are losing money because of password sharing, but I don’t find that to be the case. One of the reasons behind Netflix’s monetary losses is because its fanbase is losing interest in what they have to offer. 

Netflix has proven to have a pattern of canceling well loved shows such as “Inside Job”, “The Society” and “Daredevil” yet renew seasons of shows such as “Big Mouth” that have received outright hatred. Imagine waking up to your favorite show being gone, almost as if it never existed. That is the reality for many Netflix users. It becomes hard to think that Netflix wants to stay relevant when they take away one of the only things they have going for them, supply and demand. Most people use Netflix because the content on it is exclusive to the platform. By taking away their exclusive content they have nothing special to offer. 

Another thing that I feel is making fans lose interest in the platform is Netflix’s broken collections. It is extremely inconvenient that Netflix has shows missing entire seasons, yet they continue to keep it up. A few years back, Netflix had all three seasons of the show “Transformers Prime,” but now it only has the first, something frustrating for all watchers. 

The issue extends past just shows. The Michael Bay Transformers movies were recently added to Netflix. However, don’t be excited to sit back and watch them in order because the first movie isn’t available on the platform.

Furthermore, I believe Netflix is losing its charm because they produce content that isn’t relevant anymore. One of their most recent additions was the animated film “Astro Boy”, a great movie no doubt, but it’s old news. The movie came out all the way back in 2009. This lack of relevance can be seen with so many “new” additions to Netflix such as “Flushed Away” and “Sonic Boom.” The only shows and movies that remain relevant are Netflix Exclusives and new seasons of already popular shows which doesn’t help their success rate in creating new content.

Overall, Netflix wants to make as much money as possible by doing as little as possible. Many people are going to learn what a torrent is after this policy is passed, and that will only contribute to the fall of the platform. Their downfall isn’t that people are sharing an account, it’s their lack of relevance, interesting content, and incomplete collections.