When you just want to watch something, you probably look for it first on Netflix or Amazon. When you really treasure something and want to make it part of your library, you might buy the disc. But when do you buy a digital copy of a TV episode or a movie? Basically never, right? Yeah, and that’s the problem for the whole industry, because you’re not alone. [More]
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North Korea’s Parents Now Have A Streaming Video Service To Distract Their Kids With
By 8.22.16
Although North Korea is often regarded as one of the least connected countries in the world, those who do have access to the state-run version of the internet will have a few more things to watch — and a few more things to distract their kids with. [More]
Netflix Is Coming To More Hotels Near You
By 8.18.16 — Updated: 10.6.16
Who wouldn’t want to catch up on a few episodes of House of Cards or Stranger Things while biding time in your hotel room waiting out your latest business trip? A new partnership between Netflix and in-room entertainment platform Enseo means chances are better that you’ll be able to do just that. [More]
Why Was My Netflix Account Commandeered From Ecuador?
By 8.11.16
From time to time, Netflix customers share their passwords with friends and family members, even some that may live in other countries. In those cases, it’s not unusual to see activity on your account from a device in, say the U.K., streaming the latest episode of Game of Thrones. But Consumerist reader Niki doesn’t know anyone in Ecuador, and she certainly didn’t give out her password to someone living there. Yet, she’s repeatedly seen activity in that country, despite changing passwords and email addresses associated with the account. [More]
New Netflix App Tells You If Your Mobile Connection Is Fast Enough For Streaming
By 8.10.16
With more and more subscribers streaming video on their mobile devices, Netflix wants to ensure the content is coming through with the best quality possible by launching a mobile speed test app. [More]
Comcast Would Rather Be More Like Tesla Than Netflix
By 8.8.16
While it remains to be seen what Comcast’s Next Big Thing will be — though it probably won’t be a streaming TV product — there’s one thing the company knows for sure: it doesn’t want to be anything like those Netflix guys. [More]
Time Warner CEO: HBO Is The Original Netflix
By 8.2.16
For a monthly fee, you get access to second-run movies and some well-regarded original content. While that sounds a lot like Netflix, it’s also been HBO’s model for about 40 years. And the CEO of HBO’s parent company doesn’t see the new kids on the premium content block dethroning the old king anytime soon. [More]
Verizon Kind Of Wants To Be Your New Netflix, But With More Ads
By 8.2.16
If it feels like the media and technology worlds of late are constantly going through this weird, ebbing, flowing, overlapping process, well, you’re not wrong. Jumping into the fray most recently is Verizon, which not only has its own streaming service but also now wants to sell you on original content… that it can, of course, stuff with advertising for your eyeballs. [More]
Netflix Sees Subscriptions Dip Amid Price Hike, Blames Press Coverage
By 7.19.16
As it turns out, raising the price of something can have the effect of turning people off that product. So it went for Netflix, which said this week that it’s lost some customers after instituting planned price hikes that affected around 17 million customers. [More]
No, You Won’t Go To Federal Prison For Sharing Your Netflix Password
By 7.12.16
Last week, a federal appeals court issued a ruling that has been widely reported to imply that sharing your password for Netflix of HBO Go is a federal crime that could get you locked up in federal prison. However, looking at the actual case involved in this ruling, it’s more than a bit of a stretch to apply this decision to the common practice of sharing login info. [More]
6 Odd Things That Happened That Got My Netflix Account Canceled By A Stranger
By 7.11.16
There are lots of reasons — price hike, a content library that no longer appeals to you, infrequent use, poor internet connection — that you might cancel your Netflix service. One thing that’s not on that list is “Netflix employee doesn’t realize that two people could have the same name.” [More]
You Can (Eventually) Use The Netflix App On Your Comcast Cable Box
By 7.5.16
At long last, Comcast has finally realized what consumers have known for years: Netflix — and its increasing focus on original series, not the cable and broadcast library — isn’t competition. It’s complementary. And so two of the biggest companies in media are about to lay down their metaphorical arms and start working together. [More]
A Bunch Of Patriotic-ish Movies You Can Stream If You’re Stuck Indoors This July 4th
By 7.1.16
For many people, this Fourth of July weekend is sure to be a busy one — Parades! Picnics! Parties! But when the fireworks have all stopped and you’ve been rendered immobile after consuming too many grilled things — or if you just need a few hours to not talk to your family and friends — you can still get into the spirit of the weekend with some movies. [More]
Google Chrome Has A Bug That Makes It Super Easy For Pirates To Purloin Streaming Video
By 6.27.16
Lots of things made our modern all-online, all-video era possible: Internet connections got faster, tech got cheaper, and so on. But the thing that made companies like Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu willing and able to become household names in TV is a little invisible: it’s the ability to keep you paying for content. [More]
You Might Be Able To Watch Some Netflix Content Offline By The End Of The Year
By 6.24.16
After a few months of wondering whether Netflix may usher in a new offline viewing era, reports are circulating now that say the feature could be launched by the end of the year. [More]
Netflix Binge Scale Reveals Which Shows Turn Us Into Unmoving Couch Potatoes
By 6.8.16
We’ve all got them, those shows that have the power to keep us glued to our couches, in front of a screen, watching each and every episode available until it feels like nothing else exists. Netflix knows it too, and has released a new Binge Scale that it says reveals which programs we’re most likely to sacrifice our social lives to. [More]
Privacy Activists Set Up Giant Mobile Billboard Across From Netflix HQ To Protest VPN Blocking
By 5.26.16
From a business standpoint, it makes sense for Netflix to block VPNs — virtual private networks — to cut down on users accessing its content in foreign countries. But privacy activists who just want to use VPNs to keep their internet connections, well, private, aren’t too pleased with Netflix’s recent blocking campaign. [More]
Netflix Launches Its Own Speed Test Website
By 5.19.16
There are dozens of websites that can determine the download speeds of your current Internet connection. Starting this week, there’s another, this time from Netflix. [More]
