What you need to know
- Netflix recently ended free trials for its streaming service, but a new type of trial may be in the works.
- Code extracts found by XDA's Mishall Rahman in the latest Netflix Android app build mention an upcoming event in December.
- Netflix told Protocol that it's an upcoming marketing event to try and draw in new customers.
- The event won't require people to input payment info to watch Netflix's library, but the event looks like it will have a capacity cap.
- StreamFest is a two-day event that is tentatively scheduled to start on December 4, the first Friday in December.
Free trials are gone at Netflix, just a few short months after Disney+ eliminated their free trial, but there's still a chance to get a taste of Netflix without having to cough up a credit card number. After digging around in the latest build of Netflix's Android app app, Mishaal Rahman of XDA-Developers found hints of an upcoming event called StreamFest. Netflix confirmed to Protocol that StreamFest is happening as a "different marketing promotion" to help lure users to the streaming giant.
"We don't need any payment details — just your love and undivided attention."
StreamFest will start on December 4 and run for two days, allowing anyone with the Netflix app to watch Netflix without having to fork over their payment info. The text strings and tags found in the app don't indicate that there's a limit on the content available during StreamFest — then again, a lot can change on that front in the next six weeks — but it does appear that there's a limit to how many users can take part in the event at one time, as a "Netflix StreamFest is at capacity" tag is included.
Then again, given that Netflix outages aren't uncommon even when just paying subscribers are watching, that tag might also be there as a festival-specific error to display instead of a more embarrassing server failure during what will no-doubt be a high-traffic weekend for the service.
If you can't wait for StreamFest, there's always the Watch Free section which allows you to check out a few episodes and movies from Netflix's Originals selection in an attempt to draw in new subscribers. That's available year-round!
The original streaming service is still going strong.
While Netflix may be facing stiffer competition than ever in 2020, the service still has a huge catalog of titles — including amazing Netflix Originals like Stranger Things, The Haunting of Bly Manor, and The Umbrella Academy.
