Netflix wants to power in-flight entertainment

PanARMENIAN.Net - The days of suffering through Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 on long-haul flights could soon be over, as Netflix has designs on dominating the skies with its own on-board entertainment options, Digital Spy reports.

Despite having once again brushed aside the notion of adding offline viewing, the streaming giant has suggested it's looking to squeeze the whole of netflix into a box to make content accessible in at least one Wi-Fi-free environment - aircrafts.

"We have no plans for an offline mode," Netflix's chief product officer Neil Hunt told Digital Spy. "I think it's far more important to solve the problem of how do you distribute content on an airplane."

Further dangling this content-brimmed carrot, Hunt went on to suggest there are two avenues the company could pursue to realise a new era of fun flights.

"We are seeing the next-generation of Wi-Fi in planes, so that's a direction," he explained. "The other direction is that we can fit the whole of Netflix into a box that's this size [about 1 square foot], that can fit on a plane, so why not pursue that?

"Instead of having their existing rack of equipment that shows the crappy titles that you typically find on a plane, let's put Netflix on there instead, or as well.

"I think we can do that. I think we could deliver a really compelling experience on a plane."

Before you go getting your hopes up for the chance to catch up on the latest series of House of Cards or Orange is the New Black the next time you cross the Atlantic, settle down - sadly this service isn't coming anytime soon.

"I would say it's very theoretical at this point," Hunt stated. "There's always discussions going on at different levels, but we've got no specific plans to discuss at this point.

"It won't happen this year or next year, but I don't think it's actually that far way, and that's a more interesting direction that is more sustainable than the download model."