If you were to subscribe to music streaming services like Apple Music or Spotify, one of the key features is the ability to save music for offline listening. Unfortunately for video streaming services like Netflix, despite them charging you a monthly subscription fee (and with a price hike coming next month), offline viewing is not feasible.
The good news is that Netflix could be having a change of heart. According to a report from Tech Insider, it seems that Netflix’s CEO Reed Hastings has expressed that he is open to the idea of allowing offline viewing. This is by no means a guarantee that the feature is coming, but at least we know that it isn’t completely off the table.
Speaking during the company’s earnings call on Monday, Hastings was quoted as saying, “We should keep an open mind on all this… as we expand around the world where we see an uneven set of networks, it’s something we should keep an open mind about.” Now obviously Netflix wouldn’t be the first to allow offline viewing.
As it stands, Amazon already allows users to save videos for offline viewing with its Amazon Instant Video feature. However there are limitations, such as videos being only available for 48 hours before they are gone, a limitation which we can imagine Netflix will also want to implement. No word on when offline viewing is coming to the service, but we are hoping it will be soon.
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