Netflix Says Users Can’t Handle Offline Playback

Now that Amazon has introduced offline playback to its video streaming service, all eyes turned to Netflix to see how it would react to its rival’s bold move. Instead of aping Amazon Instant Video, however, Netflix has reaffirmed its previous stance that it will never introduce offline playback, and has explained why.

Neil Hunt, Chief Product Officer for Netflix, told Gizmodo:

“Undoubtedly it adds considerable complexity to your life with Amazon Prime – you have to remember that you want to download this thing. It’s not going to be instant, you have to have the right storage on your device, you have to manage it, and I’m just not sure people are actually that compelled to do that, and that it’s worth providing that level of complexity.”

So, Netflix won’t implement offline streaming because it thinks the facility too complex for its users. It has, though, been thinking of alternative measures to deliver video to users that can’t stream online:

“As an example, what if we can put Netflix in a rack box that essentially contains all of Netflix content that you could imagine putting in an airplane server, right along with our existing offerings? That for me is a more interesting thing; can we make Netflix work on a plane, can we make it work on a train, in hotels?”

Hunt concedes that “it’s something that lots of people ask for,” but counters that, “we’ll see if it’s something lots of people will use.” Why not try it and see?

Thank you Gizmodo for providing us with this information.