Netflix offers free access to originals to drive subscriptions

Stranger Things

Netflix is offering free access to a range of its programming as the streamer looks to expand upon its almost 200 million subscribers.

The dedicated page shows a selection of titles – all Netflix originals – that non-subscribers can watch for free.

These range from the Academy Award-nominated The Two Popes to the critically panned but zeitgeist-capturing horror flick Bird Box. Also highlighted are the first episodes of a few top Netflix shows such as the popular social experiment dating programme Love Is Blind and Stranger Things, arguably Netflix’s most successful original show.

Other movies and TV shows include Our Planet, Murder Mystery and Grace And Frankie.

Across the 10 titles on offer, viewers will get to experience about a dozen or so hours of original Netflix content, which the leading SVOD will hope will sufficiently whet sceptical appetites.

This is not the first time that Netflix has offered its content for free. As a promotion for teen drama P.S. I Still Love You earlier this year, Netflix let viewers watch the first film in the series – To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before – for free, albeit only for a few weeks.

Netflix currently has 193 million global subscribers, with a net gain of 26 million so far in 2020. This, combined with a bullish report from Piper Sandler, led the streamer to approach its all-time share price recently.