Rumor: Netflix will allow offline viewing by the end of this year

According to a CEO of Penthera, a company that provides technology for downloading video streams, Netflix will have an option to store videos before the end of 2016. This would make it possible to watch videos offline.

Dan Taitz, Penthera’s operations manager, is making the statement to LightReading. “We know from industry sources that Netflix is ​​coming with this product. My expectation is that Netflix will offer a download-to-go option to its customers by the end of this year.” A Frost & Sullivan analyst adds that the arrival of a download option at Netflix is ​​an “open secret” within the streaming video community.

Last year, Netflix told Gizmodo that adding a download option for offline viewing is not a good idea. An extra choice would make the service more complicated for users, a company chief said in an interview. Netflix seems to have come back to that position: CEO Reed Hastings said in a conversation with investors at the end of April that the company is open to the idea of ​​​​watching offline. However, there is no official confirmation about the arrival of such an option yet.

Netflix will probably have to make agreements with distributors of movies and series before the service can offer them for offline viewing. It would be obvious that at least Netflix’s own productions are available if the streaming service comes with a download option.