Image: Ken Ishii/Getty Images

You may soon be able to download some of your favorite shows and movies from Netflix if rumors swirling around the streaming service are true.

Netflix users have long wanted to have the ability to save titles for offline viewing. Such a feature would allow subscribers to watch specific movies and shows offline, and would make the company more competitive with alternatives that do allow downloads. That feature may be available before 2017, Dan Taitz, COO of Penthera, told Light Reading.

Why the rumor may be true
"My expectation is that Netflix will be launching download-to-go as an option for their customers," he said.

This isn't an outlandish claim, as fellow online streaming titan Amazon offers the ability to download movies and episodes of shows for offline viewing. To further support the rumor, in an interview earlier in 2016, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said the company should keep an open mind about offering the ability to download content for later viewing.

For people who travel often, have long commutes on public transit, or just don't live in an area with a reliable Internet connection, this would definitely be an attractive option that could boost Netflix's numbers.

Frost & Sullivan principal analyst Dan Rayburn corroborated the new download rumor, telling Light Reading that this feature possibly coming to Netflix is "something of an open secret in the streaming video community."

Why the rumor may not be true
Although these signs point toward Netflix bringing a new download feature to the service soon, there are other signs pointing the other way.

Penthera is involved with video-downloading software, so it makes sense Taitz would like to believe Netflix is looking at offering a download feature soon — what's good for downloads is good for his company. Because he didn't offer anything in the way of evidence that Netflix is introducing the feature soon, his statements could simply be wishful thinking.

There is also the fact that, in September 2015, Netflix specifically listed reasons why it didn't offer a download option — namely that the feature would add too much complexity for users.

“Every time you add a control, you reduce the total number of users who use them,” Netflix COO Neil Hunt told Gizmodo UK. So it may actually hurt Netflix even further, something they can't afford to do given the expected drop in subscribers after its price increase.

Even if Netflix introduces the feature soon, you likely won't be able to download everything on the service. Studios make deals with Netflix for streaming only, not for downloads, so Netflix would presumably have to make new deals with all the studios it works with to get the rights to offer users the ability to download content.

Netflix declined to comment on the rumors.

By Kellen Beck

Source: Mashable.com