Why Netflix Is Not Bringing Offline Viewing Mode To The US And The UK

Netflix is finally bringing the offline viewing feature to its app. Unfortunately, the media streaming and video-on-demand company does not plan to add this functionality for consumers in the United States and the United Kingdom to enjoy.

According to PhoneArena, Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos has made it clear why users in U.S. and the U.K. are not going to have access to offline viewing. Sarandos has explained that this feature is going to be added to the platform with the goal of giving access to users in countries where broadband speeds and WiFi access are not that stable.

Sarandos said that in certain countries where data connections are not really stable, people have developed this "downloading culture." Thus, they intend to add offline viewing to these areas to make it easier for people there to use Netflix easily.

Since developed countries like the U.S. and the U.K. do not have problems with internet connections and because internet access is readily available in these regions, Netflix has decided not to make this feature accessible to consumers in these regions. Sarandos explained this move in an interview with CNBC which is quite unfortunate since Netflix's competitors Amazon Prime and YouTube Red already have this offline viewing feature.

Gizmodo says Sarandos’ statement could be the culmination of the “download-and-go” feature that was making rounds in the grapevine this year. Rumors have alluded to the possibility that Netflix is making its content available for download for offline viewing before this year ends. Unfortunately, with this official statement from the Netflix COO, the fruition of the speculations is very unlikely for people in the U.S. and the U.K.

PhoneArena quips the release of the feature in the U.S. and the U.K. could be quite useful to consumers when internet connections are not reliable or when one is in a dead zone. But now that Sarandos has set the record straight, users in these areas should not expect to have the convenience of downloading Netflix content and viewing it after or at a later time.