As an American, Netflix has been a household name for streaming since 2007. The Media Show states Netflix was originally a “DVD-by-post service, revolutionized home movie rentals by not charging late fees and introducing the concept of a subscription”. With their eventual introduction of streaming, it became a staple in the US. As long as you have a phone, laptop, tablet, etc., Netflix can be streamed on most devices, and given that Netflix was founded in the US, we have a wide variety of content that is available for subscribers to watch.
According to Netflix’s website, there is a “variety of award-winning Netflix originals, TV shows, movies, documentaries, and more”. However, not only can you watch content on Netflix, but you can play content on Netflix! I remember in 2019 playing Black Mirror: Bandersnatch with one of my friends. It was the first time I had interacted with content on Netflix, and it allowed my friend and I to make decisions throughout the show and unlock different endings – I was in awe! Since then, Netflix has expanded its content into games.
In 2021, Netflix introduced gaming to all iOS devices. They saw the interest from their reality games shows (Floor is Lava, The Circle, Squid Games), and wanted to continue their love for entertaining their members by creating 5 new games for those who may be more casual gamers to those who crave more immersive experiences. As of 2024, Netflix has over 80 exclusive mobile games for Netflix subscribers in certain countries, including the United States.
Because Netflix was founded in the US, we have been able to experience most of the content they put out or be the first to experience new BETA features, such as the Netflix mobile games. Since then, many popular Netflix original content have been remade in different countries, such as Love is Blind, which now has many international editions (UK, Japan, Brazil, etc.).
Additionally, people tend to use VPNs to stream Netflix in different countries. I will say, as an American, I am always excited to visit another country because it is exciting to be able to stream new content on the same service. Therefore, having a VPN helps recreate that same feeling when I am back in the US. Not only do we have access to the US portion of Netflix, but with a VPN we have access to Netflix, globally! I feel like if I were still subscribed to Netflix, that would be a huge incentive to stay a subscriber, but to me, it has a low use value.
It is very interesting to watch Netflix transform from an ad-free, binge-friendly model to something that is very reminiscent of commercial television. With the competition of other streaming services being introduced in the US, Netflix’s business model is constantly changing to adapt to its competition. This has led to the inclusion of ad-supported content in October 2022 and a crackdown on password sharing in May 2023.
While the inclusion of these two things may have upset many subscribers, including me, it helped Netflix immensely. In her article, Samantha Delouya, a CNN Business Writer, reported, “Netflix… added more than 9 million subscribers in the first three months of the year, hitting a record high of 269.6 million subscribers”. As someone who was trying to stick it to Netflix by unsubscribing, I will say this shocked me.
However, seeing Netflix’s success with eliminating password sharing makes me nervous about what that means for other streaming services. Will they follow suit? Or will they continue to innovate something new for their subscribers? Only time will tell.