Have an older Sony TV? You might be about to lose Netflix

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Support for models released between 2011–2013 ends in February

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(Image credit: Future)

Sony has announced that Netflix will no longer be supported on its smart TVs and smart Blu-ray players released between 2011 and 2013 due to "technical limitations". Sony's statement says that Netflix has announced this, leading us to believe that the streaming platform decided to end support for these older Sony TVs and Blu-ray players.

This change will affect models in the HX, EX and W ranges, as well as the S995, X9005 and around 35 Blu-ray players (thanks to FlatpanelsHD for highlighting these). There hasn't been an exact switch-off date announced quite yet, but Netflix says that it's expected to be the end of February 2024. This comes after Netflix dropped support for many older Samsung, Panasonic and Sony TVs, as well as the PlayStation TV and PlayStation Vita handheld system in October of this year. 

So what can you do if you want to keep watching Netflix? If you're in the market for a new TV, now might be the ideal time to upgrade, especially if you've been holding onto your TV for a decade. Panel technology and smart features have come a long way since then, and if you'd like to stick with Sony then you can use our best Sony TVs list as a great point of reference when shopping for a newer model.

However, if you're someone who wants to get the most out of your TV and doesn't want to replace your set just to regain access to Netflix, then you can instead opt for a media streamer. Some of our favourites include the Google Chromecast with Google TV and Apple TV 4K (2022), both of which will give you access to the latest streaming services with a much slicker interface.

MORE:

Check out our full Netflix review

As well as our list of the best TVs

Our list of the best Blu-ray and 4K Blu-ray players

Lewis Empson
Senior Staff Writer

Lewis Empson is a Senior Staff Writer on What Hi-Fi?. He was previously Gaming and Digital editor for Cardiff University's 'Quench Magazine', Lewis graduated in 2021 and has since worked on a selection of lifestyle magazines and regional newspapers. Outside of work, he enjoys gaming, gigs and regular cinema trips.

4 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Friesiansam
    Might lose Netflix? Oh dear, however would I recover from such a loss... :eek:
    Reply
  • simontompkins
    If Netflix upgrade their platform and as a consequence some older firmware cannot keep up then that's a reasonable development of the market.
    If, on the other hand, Netflix arbitrarily deregisters TVs and Blu Ray players over 10 years old then thats potentially manipulation of the market.
    I'd be really interested to hear how Netflix would respond to an email from What Hi Fi asking for more technical details. Could be a bigger story here.
    Reply
  • daveh75
    simontompkins said:
    If, on the other hand, Netflix arbitrarily deregisters TVs and Blu Ray players over 10 years old then thats potentially manipulation of the market.

    Why would they do that?

    They don't benefit from making TVs obsolete and they'd be deliberately depriving themselves of subscription revenue.
    Reply
  • Azzuro
    These types of moves together with manufacturers themselves showing reluctance to update firmware for models older than a few years old just shows the value in external streaming boxes (such as Apple TV, Google TV etc) - especially as many of them are quite inexpensive. Never rely on internal apps is always a good assumption to start with. It is likely a combination of Netflix asking Sony to update the software of older TVs to run their app and Sony either refusing to do so or the hardware itself is simply not powerful enough to accomodate the new software.
    Reply