NASA announced this week that NASA+, the agency’s new streaming service, will be making the leap to another streaming service, Netflix. However, NASA+ will still be available, for free, on the agency’s website.
A year ago, NASA announced it was going all in on streaming, shutting down the decades-old NASA TV program and replacing it with NASA+, an on-demand service that allowed fans to watch any of NASA’s original programming for free. NASA+ also became the new home for all of NASA’s official streams of rocket launches, spacewalks, press conferences, and its 24/7 live views from the International Space Station.
However, this didn’t mean NASA was abandoning its “content everywhere” mentality of public relations. Streams continue to be shared across the internet on NASA’s official channels on Facebook, YouTube, and Elon Musk’s X.
A fourth option will be added to the mix later this year: Netflix. The streaming giant has been the envy of the media industry as one of the few profitable streaming services on the market. According to NASA, Netflix garners a global audience of 700 million users worldwide, so adding its content to the service was a no-brainer.
While NASA+ remains free and without ads, those who already subscribe to Netflix’s service will be able to experience live views of rocket launches, spacewalks, and ISS views.
Space Explored’s Take
While I was apprehensive about NASA+ when it launched, the change to a streaming service was likely the required precursor to allow opportunities like Netflix to happen, which I’m excited to try. For me, NASA’s take on the streaming service, while an improvement over NASA TV, is still a bit… confusing. I usually cannot find what I want to watch, so I tend to just stay away.
While NASA didn’t state that a paid subscription was required for watching NASA+ content on Netflix, the company doesn’t offer any free tiers to its subscriptions, only ad-supported and ad-free. Likewise, NASA didn’t state if Netflix ads would play during its content, but with the phrase “NASA+ remains available for free, with no ads, through the NASA app,” ads and a paid subscription will likely be required for Netflix viewing.
While it makes sense, NASA likely isn’t paying Netflix anything for this service, and Netflix is hoping to add value and bring in extra revenue through the partnership. Although the first time an ad interrupts a NASA rocket launch right at a key point in the launch will make for an interesting assessment of the venture.
