WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) wants the major streaming services to give the gift of free content this holiday season in an effort to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
With coronavirus cases continuing to surge, King wrote to Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Apple TV+, Hulu and HBO Max leaders requesting that they make their content available free of charge to help encourage Americans to stay home during the holidays and winter months.
The CDC recommends that Americans should avoid traditional holiday travel and gatherings to help reduce the chance of COVID-19 transmissions. King believes that the streamers are in a unique position to provide Americans with safe entertainment options that will help make this non-traditional holiday season easier.
“Specifically, I encourage you to temporarily remove any cost considerations for use of your services for current non-subscribers as a public service to who [sic] are seeking to remain safe and indoors this holiday season, as opposed to the risks involved as the nation sees a dramatic surge in pandemic cases,” King wrote in his letter.
“While your platforms would likely experience greater traffic as a consequence of extending service, we encourage you to provide temporary service at no cost to non-subscribers as a way to encourage people to make responsible choices and safely navigate this holiday season,” he added.
Sen. King's full letter is available to read online.
