Netflix is a streaming service that has over 5,000 films in its library. One of the most well-known digital streaming platforms, Netflix is known for having classic movies and unique shows, some of the most famous being Wednesday, Young Sheldon, Back to the Future, and Stranger Things.
While many people enjoy the variety of shows on this service, more and more films are leaving or have already left Netflix to make room for new ones. Some of these include Crazy Rich Asians, Home, The Notebook, and Shrek.
Glen Barefoot has had a Netflix subscription for over 12 years. He has been using the service since Netflix used to ship out DVDs to subscribers, a practice which ended around September of last year
“I think that after Covid, Netflix started charging more…because they realized more people were watching their films,” said Glen Barefoot, visual art teacher and department leader.
The impact of COVID-19 has significantly affected the entertainment industry, leading to the removal of numerous movies and shows from Netflix. This has left many fans feeling outraged and disappointed. The sudden changes in the availability of films have disrupted the viewing experience for Netflix subscribers
Netflix has recently announced a $2 increase in its prices, according to Yahoo!Finance. Many streaming platforms are also increasing the price of a subscription. It reflects the growing cost of producing and licensing original films. Even so, Netflix still offers a diverse range of movies and shows.
“If you don’t have cable TV, or you don’t go to the movies often at a physical theater, I think it’s worth it, but I know that right now Mr. Barefoot and I are going through and checking which ones we use the most,” said Dyan Barefoot, world mythology and 7th grade advanced language arts teacher.
Over the years, a significant number of Netflix subscribers have decided to cancel their subscriptions in response to the company’s periodic price hikes.
The most popular shows and movies on Netflix are often their originals. Viewers become disappointed when a favorable film leaves, especially when films that no other streaming platforms have are removed.
“What I don’t understand is when something is Netflix produced and they remove that because then there’s nowhere else to find it. “ D. Barefoot said.
Over 30 titles had left Netflix last year. Among those were shows that were also used in learning environments. The sudden removal of movies impacted many viewers in different ways.
“I can’t think of one personally, but I know last year in my ELA class we read the book The Hunger Games, and I think it was on Netflix. Not long after we read the book they took it off, as well as other like book to movie kind of things at that time.” said D. Barefoot.
Netflix also faces competition from several streaming platforms, including Disney+, Prime Video, Hulu, and others. These platforms offer a wide range of content and have been gaining popularity among viewers.
For example, one of Netflix’s biggest competitors is Disney. Netflix had actually reportedly lost about 1 million subscribers to Disney+. In fact, they had recently surpassed Netflix in terms of global subscribers around July, according to The Wall Street Journal.
“I’m interested to see what happens,” G. Barefoot said.