Yahoo Finance Netflix Has 'No Plans' to Roll Out Playback Speed Feature After Hollywood Protest
Netflix isn’t making any big changes anytime soon.
One day after Judd Apatow spoke out about a potential new feature allowing viewers to adjust playback speed on the streaming service, Netflix has confirmed that they have “no plans” to roll out the control in the near future.
“We have no plans to roll any of these tests out in the short term,” Netflix Vice President Keela Robison said in a statement. “And whether we introduce these features for everyone at some point will depend on the feedback we receive.”
The playback feature would have given viewers the option to slow down the speed to 0.5x or 0.75x or raise it to 1.25x or 1.5x. This means viewers could watch scenes in slow motion or make them faster.
“It’s a feature that has long been available on DVD players — and has been frequently requested by our members,” Robison added.
RELATED: Judd Apatow Slams Rumored New Netflix Feature: I Will ‘Fight You on This’
The feature was tested on limited mobile only screens and “generated a fair amount of feedback – both for and against.”
“We’ve been sensitive to creator concerns and haven’t included bigger screens, in particular, TVs, in this test,” Robison said. “We’ve also automatically corrected the pitch in the audio at faster and slower speeds.”
Netflix noted that the playback feature would have been manually controlled. “In addition, members must choose to vary the speed each time they watch something new — versus Netflix maintaining their settings based on their last choice.”
Along with playback, Netflix also tested controls allowing viewers to alter the brightness on their phonea without going into settings and making finding language and audio settings easier from a locked screen.
After reading about the potential changes, Apatow threatened to boycott the service — and get his famous friends in on it as well.
“No @Netflix no,” the legendary director tweeted. “Don’t make me have to call every director and show creator on Earth to fight you on this. Save me the time. I will win but it will take a ton of time. Don’t f— with our timing. We give you nice things. Leave them as they were intended to be seen.”
Breaking Bad star Aaron Paul, director Peyton Reed (Ant-Man), director Brad Bird (The Incredibles and Mission: Impossible: Ghost Protocol) and more also spoke out about the change.
