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Netflix changes how you view TV

A revolution is taking place in home entertainment.  In fact, you can take the “home” out of the equation entirely.

Today’s college students no longer need to be home, or in front of a television set to watch their favorite network or cable television shows.  More people are choosing to become Netflix users where they can watch back-to-back episodes of a show, commercial-free and without the weeklong wait for the next episode to air.  According to the Netflix website, it has approximately 38 million members around the world.

Rebekah Seagraves, a senior marketing major and Netflix member, said that she watches Netflix more than network television.  “I don’t even know the channels on my new TV,” she said.  Seagraves attributes the popularity of Netflix to scheduling.  “We’d rather have access to the shows we want to watch on our schedule, which you can’t have when watching regular TV,” she said.

Before Netflix and other online streaming sites, people had to clear their schedule for the night to sit in front of their television set to watch  their favorite TV show.  If they missed the show, they were out of luck.  TIVO and DVRs fixed the timing issues but having to be in a specific location remained a problem.

Netflix users can watch their favorite TV show or movie anywhere that has an Internet connection.  They can pause, stop, rewind and fast forward all with a click of their mouse.  This especially helps college students who are busy with part-time jobs and hours of studying.

Until 2012, Netflix Instant Streaming only offered movie and television show reruns.  On Feb. 6, 2012, they released their first original series called “Lilyhammer,” which received mostly positive reviews from critics. Netflix garnered even bigger success this year with their original series “House of Cards.”  The political drama made history by being the first online delivered program to receive a Primetime Emmy nomination for best drama series.

Netflix struck gold with another original series, “Orange is the New Black.”  Mary Sergeant, a junior public relations major, chose to watch the show after receiving a recommendation from a friend.  “I think the show is so popular because it’s so different from other shows on television,” Sergeant said.  The dark comedy series has created a lot of buzz and was arguably one of the hit shows of the summer.

Along with original series, Netflix has a large selection of movies to fit anyone’s taste.  There are classic movies such as “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” goofy comedies such as “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” documentaries, critically acclaimed dramas such as “The King’s Speech” and more.

It’s not just original programming, a large selection of movies and popular reruns of hit television shows that make Netflix the choice of so many. Rather, it is the freedom to view these shows at convenience that makes Netflix a truly revolutionary source for movies, comedies and dramas.

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Netflix changes how you view TV