Netflix and "Watch Now"
Could "Watch Now" be right for you?
- No, the era of traditional television is finally over.55%
- Yes. Let the app tell me what I want to see.45%
The competition has ended.
"Watch Now: is Netflix nostalgic for traditional television?
11.12.2019
Translation: machine translated
Netflix wants us to waste less time browsing its huge catalogue. "Watch Now", a new Netflix feature, is due to be launched soon. It is currently still in the testing phase.
In 2007, Netflix triggered the streaming boom and quickly supplanted traditional television . That hasn't stopped the Californian company from testing a new feature that is very reminiscent of traditional linear television: 'Watch Now'.
This new feature should mean subscribers don't have to wade through Netflix's near-infinite catalogue. "Watch Now" should remind you of the good old days as you'll be able to zap from one piece of content to another at random at the touch of a button and without wasting time navigating from category to category in the catalogue.
Television and streaming, 2-in-1 service
"Watch Now" has been available worldwide since last Tuesday, but only on a few randomly selected Netflix accounts and exclusively on the TV app. According to Variety, this would affect between 1% and 2% of users. That's just over one to two million accounts on which "Watch Now" is enabled. On these accounts, the feature appears as a button when the app is launched on the profile selection page.
When you click this button, Netflix starts streaming content without going through the catalogue preview. The content selection is random, but based on a few basic criteria: the app will either stream the next episode of a series in progress, content found in the user's list or a title selected according to the user's tastes by Netflix's algorithm.
The test phase is expected to last another one to two months. Only then will a final decision be made on the future of "Watch Now". Netflix will probably want to test its new feature, which reminds us very much of traditional television, on mobile devices too.
It really was better before!
Luca Fontana
Senior Editor
Luca.Fontana@digitecgalaxus.chI'm an outdoorsy guy and enjoy sports that push me to the limit – now that’s what I call comfort zone! But I'm also about curling up in an armchair with books about ugly intrigue and sinister kingkillers. Being an avid cinema-goer, I’ve been known to rave about film scores for hours on end. I’ve always wanted to say: «I am Groot.»
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