Netflix has been one of the number one ways consumers watch their television. Many other platforms since Netflix’s first streaming entered the market, creating competition throughout all programs. Netflix continues to be one of the best ways to watch new movies and gives recommendations based on your viewing. A few years ago, viewers could rate the films, but now Netflix has gotten rid of ratings from users.
Why did Netflix get rid of ratings? Netflix decided to get rid of reviews to make it easier and simpler to tell whether or not a viewer liked a specific title. There are a few more big reasons that Netflix may have chosen to get rid of reviews, but nothing has been confirmed.
Netflix has been known for some cheesy movies, but over the last few years have produced some fantastic Netflix originals. With more customers, they have stepped up their game and created some well thought out and filmed movies for us to watch. Did lack of reviews help them get more customers? Maybe.
How does Netflix recommend movies?
In 2017 Netflix got rid of customer reviews, replacing it with a different and simple way to leave a review. Instead of giving a title a certain number of stars and a review, there is now a thumbs down and thumbs up button. This new button allows the system to store information about what you do like and what you do not like. From that information, it can recommend other movies like it despite having no reviews.
Why Netflix may have chosen to ditch the reviews
The short answer to this question is that by getting rid of reviews, it helped create engagement. By getting rid of the bad reviews, a viewer has to watch it to find out if they like it or not. Netflix has found a way to create personalized recommendations without you having to read reviews on a title. Of course, many people find other ways to find reviews on a movie or T.V. show. Most of Netflix’s competitors still use a review system.
History of Netflix
Since the very beginning, Netflix has come a long way. It was founded by two men in 1997 in Scotts Valley, California. In 1999 they launched a subscription service that would allow users to watch unlimited DVDs for a small monthly fee. In 2001 the company hit 1 million members who joined their memberships, in 2006 the company had a whopping 5 million members!
Netflix had been growing steadily for some time, and then in 2008, that is when they made the switch to start streaming from places like Xbox, T.V. sets, and other sites. It has grown and now partners with many services and can be found on most phones in apps or smart T.V.’s. To this day, Netflix has many original movies and shows and won several awards for them.
Who competes with Netflix
There are many streaming services that compete with Netflix, and all have some fantastic features. They vary in prices and what you can watch with them. Here is a list of key features of Netflix’s competitors, each of these platforms allows you to rate movies.
- Amazon Prime- This platform has two options for purchasing the content, you can either pay $12.99 a month or $119 a year. With this purchase, you can watch anything with Prime, but if you have a specific title in mind, you may have to pay an extra few dollars to purchase it. That will include any new movies that have been recently added or other specialty shows. There are many different genres to choose from when browsing through movies and shows. You can read all reviews of a title, and leave one of your own.
- Hulu- A basic Hulu account is $5.99, but there will be adds, limited users, and low definition. There is also a premium Hulu account you can choose from for $11.99 that allows you to watch in H.D. and add free for some titles. Not every title will be in H.D., and some may still have ads depending on their licensing agreement. Overall, it is an excellent place to watch some T.V. shows that have been taken off Netflix.
- Disney Plus- This is a relatively new competitor. This platform launched in 2019 and $6.99 a month or $69.99 a year with a 7-day free trial for either. The best thing about this is you can watch it from any device you have the app, and you can view all of the Disney movies your heart desired. They let you see all of the earlier Disney movies as well as ALL of the Star Wars movies. This could be one of the best competitors on the market now.
- YouTube T.V.- This option is a little bit more expensive but allows you to watch over 70 channels on YouTube. It costs $49.99 for on-demand shows, and sporting events you don’t want to miss. This part of YouTube launched in 2017.
- Apple T.V.- A perfect app for catching up on T.V. shows, you can start with a 7-day free trial to see if it’s something you like after that it is $4.99 a month.
Final thoughts
Many of Netflix’s competitors’ range at comparable prices, and have slight differences in what they allow consumers to watch. Netflix has gotten rid of reviews, and in return, they have gotten more engagement and a way for personalized recommendations to pop up on the T.V. screens. Will their competitors follow this trend?
All of these programs have free trials and many ways to watch, they are convenient for travel, long car rides, or nights away from home. Netflix now has options for kid’s channels, and many other apps have ways to set parental controls like Hulu. Each option has shows and movies that cater to many different people and can help make a fun, memorable family night. There is no way for you to read reviews on Netflix, but that doesn’t mean that it won’t make a good date night movie. Shop around and have fun!
