WTF?! Nobody wants to be bothered by annoying pop-up notifications while watching movies and TV shows, especially when paying for a premium experience. Hopefully, customers will speak out and derail Netflix's idiotic plan before it generates momentum.
Netflix is testing an instant replay feature that allows viewers to immediately re-watch a scene that just took place. No harm, no foul, right? Well, not so fast.
According to multiple reports from users who have encountered the new feature, it inexplicably presents itself in the form of an annoying pop-up notification. So imagine, you're immersed in a key scene when BAM, you're suddenly blindsided by a pop-up.
A spokesperson for Netflix confirmed with the Los Angeles Times that they are "trying out a feature which gives Netflix members the ability to re-watch favorite scenes and memorable moments with the click of a button." The spokesperson added that they're only looking to learn from the test right now and may or may not roll it out more broadly in the future.
Update: I watched initially via Internet TV, and have not been able to duplicate it on my desktop or phone app. So at the moment it appears to be specific to one platform.
--- Scott Renshaw (@scottrenshaw) December 11, 2018
With any luck, Netflix will come to the same conclusion that I have: this might be the most ridiculously idea ever. Seriously, who in their right mind thought this would add value to the platform? As it stands, it's just going to piss people off. I haven't even experienced it and I'm already irritated.
If Netflix insists on moving forward with this feature, hopefully they'll at least have sense enough to implement it in a manner that allows users to disable it (or at the very least, make it a voice command or an option housed on a controller-accessed toolbar).
Image credit: WilmaVdZ, Shutterstock