Netflix may be trying to regain some of the market share it lost last year with a new membership segment called "N Plus." The service will offer behind-the-scenes features, podcasts, playlists of TV shows, and the ability for subscribers to influence the creation of original content.
News of this potential feature was discovered by Protocol and all stems from an official Netflix questionnaire sent to some subscribers explaining the N-Plus concept. The survey says: "N-Plus is the online space of the future where you can learn more about your favorite Netflix shows and anything related to them.
A Netflix representative told the Protocol that the survey is part of the streaming giant's ongoing effort to learn more about its audience and what new features they want from the platform. In other words, this could be just an idea that Netflix is floating to gauge the response from its subscribers.
One of the most intriguing features of N-Plus would be the ability for users to create custom playlists of TV shows and movies and share them with other Netflix subscribers. For example, one user could gather holiday-themed episodes of multiple sitcoms into one festive playlist and share it with the world.
The idea is further developed because research suggests that the playlist feature could be extended to music as well. This would allow N-Plus subscribers to create playlists featuring music from TV shows and movies.
Other additional content, such as behind-the-scenes docs and podcasts, seem pretty standard, as Netflix has been creating this type of content for some time now. Currently, Netflix has opted to publish such content primarily on social media platforms like YouTube and Instagram, but N-Plus could see streamers putting supplemental features behind their membership walls.
Perhaps N-Plus' most radical proposal is the ability for subscribers to influence the creation of Netflix's original content during the pre-production stage; Netflix is looking to allow subscribers to provide input on original content in development and before filming is complete allow them to gather feedback.
This is a rather interesting idea, but the big question is how much Netflix will actually rely on user feedback. It is not clear that content creation by committee would lead to the best possible outcome. It is also unlikely that many creators would want to work in a system where artistic control must be left to a group of Netflix subscribers' brains.
That said, it could give Netflix a new streaming thread to fight back against Disney Plus and HBO Max, which are thriving in a streaming world where Netflix is losing its dominance
The day N-Plus sees the light of day Whether it will come or is just an idea remains to be seen, but it is clear that Netflix wants to be more than a TV and movie streaming service, just as Spotify has expanded its reach beyond music to include podcasts and audiobooks, Netflix clearly wants to grow its own platform, and N-Plus may be the first step in that direction.
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