Netflix finally explains why it removes your favourite shows and movies
This is why we can't have nice things.
Netflix viewers have noticed a trend in recent years.
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Unfortunately, the streaming service has received quite a lot of backlash whenever they remove popular movies and series.
When Netflix USA announced that they will be removing 'Friends' from the platform in 2020, viewers were not happy. Recently, they also said that they will be removing the hit series 'Breaking Bad' in 2025.
In a Reddit Ask Me Anything session, the co-founder and first Netflix CEO, Marc Randolph, had viewers and users of the platform asking him all their burning questions.
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From free subscriptions to the Netflix origin story, he shared a lot of very interesting information, but what most people wanted to know was why the streaming service chooses to remove 'objectively good shows and/or movies' and whether it's with the goal to push Netflix's own productions.
Randolph's response was:
When Netflix started streaming in 2007, 100 percent of the content they had available came from other people via licensing agreements. Netflix didn’t own these shows and/or movies - they just had a temporary licence. So the simplest explanation for good shows (The Office, Friends, etc) moving from one service to another is that the licence expired and was sold to someone else,” he said. Netflix saw that trend coming years ago, and has been moving aggressively to up the percentage of ‘owned’ content. In 2012 - they spent $2 billion (£1.6bn) on content 100 percent licensed. In 2020 - they spent approximately $18 billion (£14.3bn) on content - and 60 percent of it [was] owned.
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And there you have it.
As it turns out, Netflix is not targeting you personally, even though it might feel like that sometimes.
If you want to see some of the other interesting answers and find out if the co-founder has a free subscription or not, you can find the Reddit thread here:
I’m Marc Randolph, co-founder of Netflix and the company’s first CEO. Ask me anything!
by u/thatwillneverwork in netflix
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Main image courtesy of iStock/Wachiwit