Netflix has become the go-to television and movie streaming service in recent years. While people of all ages use Netflix, a major target audience has been college-aged young adults. Students have changed their idea of a relaxing night in to watching Netflix and ordering pizza. While students use both cable television and Netflix, a lot of them are beginning to cut their cable and solely use Netflix. What is so appealing about Netflix to college students that they would replace their traditional television with it?
Well there are many reasons why students prefer Netflix over traditional television. Netflix costs $8 per month for hundreds of movies and television shows, but unlike cable television, it goes with you. Netflix is portable and can be accessed from a traditional television through systems like PS3 or XBOX360, or through a tablet, laptop, desktop or mobile phone. Students love this feature because they do not always have time to sit down and watch their favorite television show when it airs. With Netflix, they can watch it on their smartphone while riding the Bull Runner, or on their laptop during a study break at the library.
Netflix also boasts the benefit of no commercials or advertisements. Students can watch their favorite television program, or binge-watch the entire series in one night, straight through without any interruptions from advertisers. Netflix claims that the future of television is not only through online streaming and portability, but also no advertisements during programs.
Another benefit of Netflix is the cost: only $8 per month, as compared to cable which can cost upwards of several hundred dollars. Students obviously see this as a great benefit because funds in college are often low and students will do whatever they can to save money. Netflix also has many movies included that you can watch whenever you’d like, as compared to the movie channels on cable that only allow you to watch what they are playing for that period of time. Cable has on-demand options for movies, but those cost extra. College students aren’t fans of that, especially if those movies are included in the cost of their Netflix subscription.
Netflix also has many original television series and movies, including the extremely popular “House of Cards” and “Orange is the New Black”. OITNB is especially popular amongst college-aged students and is a dramedy (drama and comedy) that is about a woman and her experiences in prison. It was released in July 2013 and since then has become extremely addicting to many Netflix subscribers. Netflix Original Series can only be watched on Netflix, which is a reason why many people subscribe.
Netflix does have a few downfalls though, including the fact that you cannot watch live shows through Netflix. While they are widening their variety of television shows everyday, Netflix still does not have every single television show like cable. Current seasons of television shows are not available and even though they will eventually be released, by that time the season is already over.
Netflix, with its pros and cons, has been an innovation in the world of television and how people watch it. Students in particular love the benefits of portability and ease of access, as well as the other benefits of Netflix and online-streaming services in general. While we do not see cable instantly disappearing, we can see that Netflix does not seem to be stopping anytime soon, and will only continue to grow.
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