Netflix Finally Adds Streaming Roulette Feature



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Illustration from article titled Netflix Finally Adds Streaming Roulette Feature As It Wins 200 Million Subscriptions

Picture: Pascal Le segretain (Getty Images)

Netflix has officially amassed 200 million subscribers, but the company has no plans to rest on its laurels.

As it continues to compete with services like Disney + and HBO Max, Netflix plans to continue improving its user experience to keep viewers engaged. Last year it introduced its “worth the wait,” “top 10” and “news and popular” sections to help with discovery, and Netflix is ​​preparing to roll out another new feature. In the first half of this year, the service will add a tool that allows Netflix to choose a title based on user preferences rather than asking them to search for something to watch.

“Our members can basically tell us they want to skip navigation altogether, click a button, and we’ll pick a title for them just to play instantly. And it’s a great mechanism that has worked well for members in this situation, ”said Greg Peters, COO and Chief Product Officer. Q&A on results. When asked if the service was going to call the ‘I’m feeling lucky’ tool, Peters replied that it would be called something different at launch.

We’ve reached out to Netflix for more information on how titles are suggested and will update this article when we get back to you.

Netflix said in the fourth quarter letter to shareholders announced on Tuesday that it had managed to secure an additional 8.5 million paid subscriptions to help the streaming giant break through the 200 million mark. In total, the company added a total of 37 million paid subscriptions in 2020, no doubt aided by the TV and streaming surge resulting from lockdown orders and quarantine measures amid the pandemic of coronavirus. In some context, Netflix reports that memberships were up 23% year-over-year in the fourth quarter.

With the arrival of so many new streaming services competing for consumer money and viewing time, Netflix has more competition than ever before. But the company says it has been waiting for this new competition – including from heavyweights like Disney and WarnerMedia – for “many years.” Key to its response is its original content churn rate and recent hits like the most recent season of The crown, Barbarians, and Selena: the series.

Its content strategy is also reinforced by the release of its international films on foreign markets. The company specifically cited an example of the French heist film Lupine, which benefited from a no. 2nd place in his American top 10. In 2020, the company also released a number of highly successful originals during the year that enjoyed critical claim and cultural impact. King tiger, Queen’s Gambit, and Bridgerton were three of those circuits, the company said.

Even with the pandemic dramatically delaying production timelines and release dates, Netflix says it’s still on track to release at least one original movie. every week 2021. Additionally, the company said it has over 500 titles in post-production or ready to go into service.

Most surprisingly, however, has been Netflix’s claim that it is “very close” to positive cash flow and no longer needs to raise external funding. In addition, the company plans to “repay the bond at maturity from available cash, as we are currently well above our minimum cash requirements”. More information on this front will likely be shared during the investor call later today.

All in all, it has been an amazing year for Netflix. And it appears that despite the number of competitors who would love to strike its crown, Netflix remains the king in the streaming space – for now, anyway.

This post has been updated to add additional information about Netflix’s revenue call.

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