I can almost guarantee this was some stupid marketing exec’s idea. Someone had to write the code that interprets that you’re watching an episode that someone else has available for streaming. Any software dev worth their salt would have seen this request and said “This is the dumbest fucking idea I have ever seen in my life” and they probably had to make it anyway because it pays the bills.
It’s the thing that bothers me about the obligatory 1-on-1s we do every month with our supervisors, asking “On a scale from 1 to 10, what’s your stress level? Are you dealing with any personal issues?” And the one time I pipe up and say, “Yeah, they raised my rent $300 and it’s putting strain on my budget.” The response was “Do you know anyone who could move in or that you could move in with to alleviate that?” I haven’t gotten a raise in two years. Fuck this shit. Don’t act like you care.