Since 2014 you can officially order Netflix in Germany. Netflix is one of the largest international paid streaming services. Over the years Netflix gained more and more popularity not only because they always have the latest series on offer but also because they have been producing their own “Netflix Originals” series for some time now. Many of them are very successful like Orange is the New Black, Narcos, Stranger Things and House of Cards.
Netflix was founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in California, America. Initially, Netflix was an “online video store”, shipping physical products such as DVDs and Blu-rays. Netflix went public in 2002 and sold more than 5.5 million shares. 2003 was the first year in which Netflix actually wrote green numbers.
2007 saw the dawn of a new era – the introduction of the streaming service. This meant that customers could watch movies online and no longer have their DVDs sent home. Until 2010, all Netflix services were available exclusively to American citizens. In the same year, Netflix began to expand. It started in Canada, followed by Latin America, the Caribbean and finally Europe.
September 2014 was the official start for Netflix in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Belgium and Luxembourg. Today, more than 83 million people are registered with Netflix.
What to find on Netflix – The offer
Netflix has a wide range of series, films, its own Netflix films, documentaries and children’s series. The majority is not only available in German, but also in the original version in English. Now I can’t list what you can find on Netflix, but a few interesting series should be mentioned. Especially popular on Netflix are Family Guy, American Horror Story, Pretty Little Liars, The Walking Dead, How I Met Your Mother or The Big Bang Theory. Also the series produced in cooperation with Marvel like Jessica Jones or Luke Cage are very popular.
Now there are not only series at Netflix Germany. Some well-known Hollywood flicks or blockbusters have also found their way here. Among them for example the Hangover series, Sherlock Holmes, Kindsköpfe or Bruce Almighty. German productions like Keinohrhasen, Helge und Band or the stage program of the comedian Bülent Ceylan are also represented.
In the Netflix Kids section you will find something for the little ones. Here you can find series like Pokemon, Angelo or movies like Megamind, Shrek, Madagascar and Top.
When it comes to documentaries, Netflix offers calibres such as Planet Earth, The Miracle of Earth, In the Realm of the Deep and many more.
The Netflix Germany Profile
You create a profile on your Netflix account and start watching series. Each time you log in, the profile remembers where you stopped. For example, if you have stopped a movie in the middle to finish it at a later time, the profile will remember that. It also knows which episode you were in when you followed a series and automatically restarts there.
An account can have several profiles, so it is no problem to use the same account with several people without getting confused. Just watching Netflix at the same time is a question of subscription, which I would like to discuss later.
The Netflix subscriptions + Netflix free month
Netflix offers different packages and subscriptions. They differentiate between Basic, Standard and Premium. With Basis, you only get the simplest for 7.99 euros a month. You can use Netflix on a device such as a smartphone, tablet, computer or TV.
No obligation and can be cancelled online at any time
In the standard package for 9,99 Euro per month you can watch Netflix on two devices at the same time. You can also watch the series in High Definition, which is not included in the basic package.
The premium package for 11,99 Euro per month shows it all on Netflix in Ultra High Definition. Besides one can look at Netflix at the same time on 4 profiles. This is ideal to share with friends. If you are unsure whether Netflix is something for you because you don’t know if you like the series there or if you use it sufficiently, you can claim the Netflix free month. Everybody has the possibility to test Netflix for one month for free.
My Netflix experiences
I’ve been using the simple Netflix package for a year or so. I came across Netflix because I was allowed to use a friend’s account for a few months. In that short time, I quickly got used to the comfort. When you start a series on Netflix, the next episodes are played automatically. Occasionally (if you’ve been there for a really long time) you’re asked if you’re still watching. What I also find super pleasant is that the intro is skipped. I haven’t found out yet when Netflix does that, but most of the time you skip the intro as soon as you watch more than two episodes or so (sometimes you don’t).
The Netflix Test – Luxury or Gimmick?
You can get used to this “luxury” really quickly. That’s why I opened a Netflix account myself and don’t regret it yet.
Especially if you are a fan of series, I can only recommend Netflix. What’s really cool is that you can change the language so easily, because I personally also watch series in the original language. With one click you can change that while watching. You can also have German subtitles displayed if you’re not sure about the English language.
The only criticism I have is that Netflix Germany is far from getting close to the offer of Netflix in America. Unfortunately, it has often happened that I looked for a film where I know that it is offered in the American Netflix, only to find out that it is not available in Germany. I suspect that this will probably not change either. If you absolutely want full access, there is probably a method to bypass the German Netflix and end up in the American one. I don’t know exactly how this works and to what extent one moves in legal grey areas. A short search on Google will certainly give you some information. Otherwise I am satisfied with Netflix and find the price of 8 Euro per month reasonable, if I consider how much boredom I would have otherwise.