Netflix assures: The timing of the blockbuster’s inclusion in the streaming program was an unfortunate coincidence.
Netflix has triggered a shitstorm by including James Cameron’s disaster film “Titanic” in its streaming portfolio. Many users complained online that the streaming service would react insensitively to the Titan submersible accident. The vehicle, operated by the company OceanGate, had imploded on the way to the sunken wreck of the Titanic. The five passengers on board died.
Timing of “Titanic” availability was purely coincidental
Netflix has announced that it will stream Titanic on July 1, 2023. However, this was met with incomprehension by many people, and allegations were made on social media that the streaming service was taking advantage of the media coverage of the incident. “Netflix is crossing the lines of decency and timing here,” wrote Twitter user BombayCat02.
However, Netflix assured that the timing of adding the 1997 blockbuster to the streaming program was purely coincidental. Contracts for existing content would usually be signed weeks, if not months, in advance. The availability period would depend on the respective contractual conditions.
The Titan disaster happened on June 18, 2023, 690 km off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada. Contact with the submersible and the five people on board was lost after about an hour and 45 minutes as it traveled to the wreck of the Titanic. After days of searching and hopes of rescue, the US Coast Guard confirmed that Titan’s remains were discovered just a few kilometers from the sunken luxury cruiser. An implosion crushed the vehicle in a matter of seconds.
The incident kept the media and public busy for several days. That’s what the “Titanic” director and diving expert James Cameron said himself, comparing the catastrophe with that of the ship that crashed in 1912. Rapper Cardi B also caused a stir when she slammed the stepson of one of the passengers who died for going to a Blink 182 concert shortly after the crash.