Netflix new 'N-Plus' service could fight Disney Plus and HBO Max

Netflix new 'North-Plus' service could fight Disney Plus and HBO Max

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Netflix may be looking to claw back some of the marketplace share it lost concluding twelvemonth with a new membership tier called "N-Plus." This service would offer behind-the-scenes features, podcasts, Television receiver prove playlists, and the ability for subscribers to influence the cosmos of original content.

The news of this potential feature was spotted by Protocol, and it all stems from an official Netflix survey sent out to select subscribers that lays out the North-Plus concept. The survey reads: "Northward-Plus is a future online space where you can learn more than about the Netflix shows yous love and anything related to them."

The best streaming services in 2021
These are the best Netflix shows and TV series to sentinel right now
Plus: The Bad Batch feels even better than Clone Wars — here'due south why

A Netflix representative told Protocol that the survey was part of the streaming giant's ongoing try to larn more about its audience and what new features they desire from the platform. So, this could be an idea that Netflix is simply floating in social club to judge the response from subscribers.

I of the most intriguing features of N-Plus would be the power for users to create custom playlists of Television shows or movies, and then share these curated lists with other Netflix subscribers. This could, for example, permit a user to collect all the holiday-themed episodes of several sitcoms in one festive playlist and so share it with the earth.

The idea is taken even further as the survey suggests the playlist feature could also be extended to comprehend music. This would allow N-Plus subscribers to create playlists featuring music from Idiot box shows and movies.

Other additional content such as behind-the-scenes docs and podcasts seem pretty standard as Netflix has been creating this sort of content for a while now. Currently, Netflix opts to release this stuff mostly on social media platforms like YouTube and Instagram, but N-Plus could see the streamer put supplementary features behind a membership wall.

Perhaps the most radical suggested characteristic of Northward-Plus is the power for subscribers to influence the creation of Netflix original content during the pre-production phase. Netflix would let subscribers to counterbalance in on original content in development and gather feedback before filming has wrapped.

It'due south a pretty interesting idea, but how much stock Netflix would actually put in any user feedback is the large question. We're not certain that content creation by committee volition atomic number 82 to the all-time results. And it'southward unlikely that many creatives would desire to work in a system when they had to relinquish pregnant artistic control to a encephalon trust of Netflix subscribers.

Nevertheless, information technology could give Netflix some other string to its steaming bow in lodge to hit back at the likes of Disney Plus and HBO Max that take seen growing success in the streaming world, where every bit Netflix has lost some of its dominance

While information technology remains unclear if N-Plus volition ever come across the light of day, or if it's merely an idea that is existence tossed effectually, it does indicate that Netflix wants to be more than a TV and movie streaming service. Similar to how Spotify has expanded its reach beyond but music to include the likes of podcasts and audiobooks, Netflix clearly wants to abound its own platform, N-Plus could be its first step towards doing that.

More: 25 biggest TV shows getting canceled or catastrophe in 2021

Rory is a staff author at Tom's Guide based in the Britain. He covers a wide range of topics including tech news, deals, gaming, streaming and more. When he's not writing hot takes on the latest gaming hardware and streaming shows, he can exist found watching a borderline unhealthy corporeality of movies and being thoroughly disappointed by his terrible football team.