Netflix

Did you ever have an urge to purchase a film or a TV series from an online website or in a store but it’s expensive or it’s not available to purchase yet? Netflix is here to solve that issue. Netflix is a subscription program that allows you to have an option of paying a monthly fee of either $8.99 (Basic Package), $10.99 (Standard Package) or $13.99 (Premium Package) while being able to watch on-demand films and TV shows as long as you have access to a WiFi connection or a data connection. Firstly, I’ll be discussing the evolutionary history of Netflix. Secondly, I’ll also be discussing the prices and purpose of each streaming package and lastly, I’ll be going over what some advantages and disadvantages of Netflix are.

Firstly, Netflix is uniquely huge streaming service provider, but are you curious about the history of Netflix? The history of Netflix goes way back to the 1990s. Netflix is an American streaming service provider founded on August 29, 1997 in Scotts Valley, California, but now, Netflix is headquartered in Los Gatos, California.

When Netflix first started out as a film renting company, they first started renting out DVDs by mail and still rent out DVDs today in America. For example, if an individual wanted to order a film today and they live in America, they should search on their browser “Netflix DVD rental” and the link to Netflix’s DVD website should’ve appeared.

Later on in Netflix’s timeline, in 2007, Netflix expanded its business with streaming online and retaining from DVDs. As stated in an article posted by Wikipedia, “In 2007, Netflix expanded its business with the introduction of streaming media, while retaining the DVD and Blu-Ray rental service.” The evidence states that Netflix started focusing on promoting and expanding their brand online more frequently since the internet was still a "huge" thing that was new to the entire world.

In 2010, Netflix purposely expanded internationally to Canada and continued to grow from there. A couple years later in 2012, Netflix started creating their own original shows and films. The first original series Netflix created was called Lilyhammer. By January in 2016, Netflix operated in 160 countries worldwide expect Mainland China, Syria, North Korea, and Crimea. However, recently, Netflix prices started to raise. Before the prices were raised, the Basic Package cost $7.99 per month, the Standard Package cost $9.99 per month, and the Premium plan cost $11.99 per month. But currently, the Basic Package costs $8.99, the Standard Package costs $10.99 and the Premium Package now costs $13.99. So now, for example, if you wanted to buy a Netflix package, you would lose more money than you would’ve 3 years ago. Netflix made the decision to increase the price of its plans in an effort to increase margins while it continues to spend billions creating hit original content such as House of Cards and Stranger Things, and etc.

Secondly, the price and purpose of each streaming package. Each streaming package has a purpose of providing you and others on-demand films and TV shows for a monthly fee. Each package has a unique price and the higher price of a streaming package, the more people that can click on a film or a TV series and watch at the same time, as well, the higher definition a TV series and films will become.

For example, a family of five would like to watch different films and shows at the same time; however, depending on the package the parents subscribed to, they’re limited to the amount of people that can watch at the same time. This example clearly states that Netflix purposely added unlike packages with different prices for different groups of people.

In addition, if you’re considering subscribing to a streaming package, depending on your preference, you can choose to subscribe to the Basic Package for $8.99, the Standard Package for $10.99, as well, you also have a choice of subscribing to the Premium package for $13.99. For example, if you prefer going cheaper, you can choose to subscribe to the Basic Package for $8.99.

This example clearly states that different people have different budgets depending if they unfortunately, don’t have a ton of money.

Equally important, consumers need to realize what streaming package works best for them. For example, if an individual has a high definition TV and the individual wishes to watch multiple high definition films or shows on their TV, they should consider choosing the Premium Package for 13.99 which has “Ultra HD” available. This example shows that the Premium Package would work best for the consumer used in the example since they wish to watch high definition films and shows on a high definition TV.

Lastly, the advantages and disadvantages of Netflix. Netflix is an outstanding subscription provider. It’s one of the most popular streaming services available on the market and fortunately, Netflix allows new-users to have a one month free-trial. Even though Netflix is amazing, there are many advantages and disadvantages to the service.

An example of a disadvantage of Netflix is that new films, TV shows, or a new season of TV shows aren’t available immediately. As quoted from an article from the website, Technobezz, “If there is a show on TV you love to watch, the latest episode won’t be available on Netflix right away even though its previous seasons are streaming on Netflix.” An example of this happening is when a 13th season of Supernatural was released, it wasn’t available on Netflix Canada and won’t be available until sometime next year. This example states that subscribers to Netflix in different countries unluckily won’t have access to new films, shows, or new seasons of show as quickly as other countries would most likely have access to.

In addition to this topic, generally speaking, most free services—for example, Youtube—have advertisements to promote brands. However, on the positive note, Netflix does not have any advertisements to interrupt a film or a TV series. To provide evidence that it doesn’t show commercials, as quoted from an article from the website, Technobezz, “Netflix is commercial free.” Netflix is commercial free since they already make revenue from the users who already paid for their service.

Another disadvantage of Netflix are uncompleted shows. For example, you start enjoying watching a show that only has two seasons on Netflix. However, the producer of that show made three seasons and the last season that you would love to watch isn’t available on Netflix yet. This is an issue since you can have a really good start to a show but you could be left off empty-handed and curious of what problems would occur at season three.

In conclusion, Netflix is a useful streaming service that allows people to watch their favourite shows and movies on demand. Netflix is important due to the fact that, family, friends, and individuals can watch TV shows and movies whenever and wherever they like as long as they have access to a data connection or WiFi. Therefore, as Netflix is a great way to stream films and shows online. Each streaming package will still be unique with its different price and the purpose it brings, as well, the history of how Netflix started will never be forgotten. But even though Netflix is a great provider of streaming online, Netflix will always have its advantages and disadvantages.