Netflix Experiment Lets You Watch Movies at 1.5 Times the Speed

(Bloomberg) -- Netflix Inc. is experimenting with a feature that lets viewers watch movies at up to 1.5 times the usual speed, testing an approach that has become popular with podcasts and YouTube clips.

The option is available on Android mobile devices, but Netflix cautioned that it may not become a permanent feature. “We’re always experimenting with new ways to help members use Netflix,” the company said in a statement Monday. The Android Police website previously reported on the test.

Other forms of media have already embraced faster playback speed. YouTube lets viewers watch clips at up to 2 times the normal rate, as does Apple’s podcast app. The feature lets podcast listeners gobble up lengthy series in half the time -- with the side effect of chipmunk-sounding voices. Likewise, a YouTube user can watch a 10-minute cooking video in five or six minutes.

But the approach is more controversial when it comes to videos that people consider art. Netflix has developed a reputation for challenging the norms of entertainment, often in ways that offend more tradition-bound viewers. The company has offended cinephiles by pushing for movies to be released at home at the same time they appear in theaters and allowing viewers to skip opening credits.

Director Judd Apatow objected to the move on Monday, telling Netflix he would call “every director and show creator on Earth to fight you on this.”

“We give you nice things,” he said on Twitter. “Leave them as they were intended to be seen.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Lucas Shaw in Los Angeles at lshaw31@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Nick Turner at nturner7@bloomberg.net

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