10 Reasons Why I Canceled My Netflix Subscription

This is my last month of Netflix. I had it for a few years now but decided to cancel it at the end of this month’s billing cycle. Here are my 10 reasons why I canceled my Netflix subscription:

1. It’s an unnecessary expense. I am subscribing to business software, such as Adobe Cloud, and paying good hard-earned money. So I need to divert the money where it counts the most.
2. I find that I am wasting time watching movies I otherwise would not even consider watching. This is because Netflix has a lot of movies that are low-budget B-rated, TV movies, and international productions.
3. Related to #2, I am spending a lot of time looking up reviews for movies I never heard of. Reviews that are mostly negative making me skip to the next movie, then the next, then the next, etc, etc. Time wasted. I end up rewatching something I already saw but know is good.
4. I travel a lot, and Netflix has movies available in some countries but not others. This also includes sub-titles and voice-overs. For example, if I want to watch a foreign language movie in Mexico (in a language other than Spanish or English), English sub-titles or voice-overs are often not available. Very frustrating.
5. Netflix has reduced the number of choices for consumers in favor of convenience. Remember going into a Blockbuster store? It was an experience. I used to visit Blockbuster every Sunday. Check out their $1 to $5 bins for movies for sale. Latest releases. It smelled like being in a movie theater. It was a fun distraction. Thanks to Netflix, no more.
6. My Internet provider forces me to get their TV package. They have a service called XView that allows me to watch movies and shows aired previously. So I don’t have the time to watch those and Netflix as well.
7. There are too many low-cost digital download options for movies and shows I actually want to watch. I can download them to my iPad or iPhone and don’t need Netflix. I have all the seasons of The Office on my iPhone.
8. The best, most popular, shows on Netflix don’t include the most recent season. Unless they are Netflix originals.
9. Movies and shows become unavailable and new releases are often old releases.
10. Some shows on Netflix are amazing, like House of Cards. But they are too few to warrant the monthly subscription. Once you see those shows or movies why keep paying a monthly subscription?

Here are bonus reasons:

• Life is too short. I find that Netflix is robbing my precious time by forcing on me movies I would never watch if I did not have the service.
• When WIFI is down or slow, this renders Netflix unwatchable.
• 4K and now 8K TV resolutions.

I tried to find a clip (with no success) from an episode of The Office where Pam says that Michael is having his “Netflix sent to the office”, referencing the original business model that made Netflix so popular even before streaming movies was a thing. The company started as a DVD mailing service where Netflix would send you 3 movies at a time on DVD for 10 dollars a month. You can keep them as long as you wanted (if memory serves) and just return them when you want to get 3 more rentals. That business model later became 3 DVDs and streaming which later became just streaming as streaming choices increased and high-speed Internet became the standard.

But any search that includes The Office and Netflix comes back with the show leaving the streaming service. So hope you enjoy the above video instead.

As the Internet becomes more saturated with movie streaming options, it will become less financially attractive for consumers because it will mean they will have to spend more money to watch the shows and movies they want. Maybe this will open the door for the comeback of Blockbuster 2.0.

So, Netflix, I have to say bye-bye. But come back to me if you have an offer I can’t refuse.