Netflix has managed to annoy a good number of its users with an announcement about an upcoming update to its Windows 11 (and Windows 10) app: support for adverts and live events will be added, but the ability to download content is being taken away.
Netflix must realize that it’s a huge frustration for people who relied on offline downloads to watch content without internet access: on planes, trains, and campsites, and anywhere else where Wi-Fi is unavailable or unreliable.
There’s a small chance that Netflix will change its mind if it gets enough complaints, but the streaming service seems determined to add as many money-making features as possible, while taking away genuinely useful ones.
The golden age of streaming is already over. Peoples wallets are getting tighter these days, but the value of what we are paying for is also declining. There is a lot less on Netflix now then there was 5 years ago and the cost has gone way up. They produce their own shows but then cancel them constantly, even if they have a decent following. Netflix has been putting in effort to make their service shittier and more expensive, removing features that people originally switched from cable to get.
Netflix IS the content creator and yet giving them more money doesn’t seem to be making their content better or stop them from cancelling shows.
Not to mention, some of these streaming sites allow you to “purchase” a movie, but then when they lose licensing to those shows it gets removed from your library. So there’s no value in purchasing digital content anymore because it can get taken from you at any time. Digital ownership has become a myth.
If you want to support your favorite shows, purchase them on DVD or go see it in theater. Paying for a streaming service is only encouraging these companies to continue raising prices and reduce the value of the product you pay for.