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What’s so great about Netflix?

Do you ever think about the days where you would run during the ad breaks of your favourite cartoons to grab some snacks? Or argue with a sibling about what show you’d rather watch? Maybe finish your homework early to catch your favourite show? We may be filled with nostalgia at these thoughts but would we trade it for our beloved Netflix now?

Netflix started a change in cinema and television alike – a shift in the landscape of entertainment. The pioneers of the beloved online network envisioned having what you want to watch coupled with the comfort of consuming the content wherever you’d like. Just like that, the stroke of brilliance was played and the field was set. Netflix embodies the vision of the future and now has more than 139 million subscribers. 

So why is Netflix gaining traction? The answer is quite simple really. Convenience and comfort. Netflix’s unique selling point is its accessibility. In an era that is as entangled in the labyrinth of the internet as the one we live in now, Netflix capitalised on the rise of digitally since the beginning of the last decade.

Making the most of the reshaping of the digital landscape, Netflix carefully catered a platform where users can find their favourite shows all under one roof. Users could watch shows whenever they’d like, on the way to work, while travelling to another country, or just in bed on a lazy Saturday morning. While we were allured by Netflix and its brilliant plan, we missed out on how they actually captured our attention.

When online, we leave a digital footprint on every link, photo, video or content that we click on. Now in terms of on-demand streaming, whatever we watched, whenever we spent most of the hours gawking at our screens, Netflix collected data.

Then came the rise of personalising the user experience. If you have spent a few hours on Netflix like the most of us, you may have noticed the little segment with a sub-heading:

‘Top picks for (name)’

‘Shows you might like’

‘Shows like the one you just watched’

The void of finishing a show that we love is a feeling that we can all resonate with. Netflix intends to fill that emptiness with more shows, more content similar to the ones you watched. We sit then sit in awe of how Netflix recognises our tastes and preferences and then we watch them regardless.

In hindsight, all those hours spent staring at our screens at our convenience, at our place of comfort is a target that Netflix is nailing. The entertainment hub has transcended general television and the constraints that it was bound by. They focused on making content enjoyable, accessible, varied yet well-catered. Following their success more entertainment producers have followed suit, Amazon Prime and Apple TV being some of the most notable.

Therein lies a question. Where do they go from here? What is their master plan to keep audiences enveloped and engaged in their never-ending libraries of content? How do they build on what they have established? 

Doesn’t matter, I’m sure we would want to click at it anyway.