A new cloud-based third-party service called PlayOn Cloud is now offering viewers the option of watching their favorite streamed video programming offline for a 99 cent fee per episode or movie title.
The service covers Netflix, Hulu, HBO Now and a few others, and allows you to download the streamed content to the cloud for viewing offline at a later time. We know that customers of Netflix have been asking for offline content for several years now, but the company has been slow to act on the demand, although they’ve been playing with the idea for some time now.
According to Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos, he said in an interview with CNBC last week that the company initially wants to offer this in countries where internet connectivity is poor.
The company’s terms of use clearly says that the content is to be used “on a streaming-only basis” so we don’t yet know how Netflix will react to the new service from PlayOn Cloud. On their part, they’ve declared that it is legal from a fair use perspective so it’s unclear whether Netflix can actually take the legal route at this point to disbar the service.
For now, it seems like Netflix users will be able to access offline content using PlayOn Cloud the way Amazon Prime and YouTube Red subscribers already can, but the 99 cent catch could push things either way. Will Netflix and Hulu users be willing to pay a dollar a show? It might be worth the money for movies, but for a single episode that’s relatively pricey.
The PlayOn Cloud service is currently available only in the United States as an iOS app, but the company is apparently working to make it available on Android devices. It currently covers 12 paid video streaming services and up to 100 streaming sites, and users need to enter their credentials for each one before they can start accessing content from that particular service.
There’s also an option to skip ads so you can enjoy an ad-free viewing experience.
If you download and install the app on your iOS device and activate the account before midnight of November 13, you get five free offline credits to try out the service.
For more details, visit the company website here: https://www.playon.tv/offers/cloud/
The service is also available for desktops called PlayOn Plus, but there’s a monthly fee of $2.50 per user or a lifetime membership for $59.99. Using this service, you can stream the recorded content to Chromecast, Fire TV, Roku, PlayStation, Xbox and more.
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