Why is the world’s best streaming film library stuck with one of the worst streaming apps?
One of the most famous twists in film and television history comes at the end of a Twilight Zone episode titled “Time Enough at Last.” A henpecked nebbish manages to survive the apocalypse in a library, surrounded by all the books he never had the bandwidth to read before—only to immediately shatter his Coke bottle-thick glasses. This cruelly ironic fate captures with cinematic flair the high…
The Criterion Channel, renowned for its unparalleled streaming library, is plagued by a cumbersome streaming app. This irony mirrors the fate of the protagonist from the Twilight Zone episode "Time Enough at Last," who finds himself stuck with a subpar library despite having access to countless books. The high-quality Criterion Collection preserves historically relevant films, offering subscribers a treasure trove of classics, deep cuts, world cinema standouts, and offbeat new releases.
Subscribers can save significantly on film school tuition by immersing themselves in the best works in cinema history, complete with director commentary tracks and supplemental materials.
However, the Criterion Channel's app has been a major source of frustration for many subscribers, particularly those using Samsung TVs. The app's compatibility issues have been ongoing since September 24, when Criterion launched a major overhaul of its streaming platform. Samsung smart TV users were initially unable to access the app, and the problem persisted through October.
The company assured subscribers that a replacement Samsung app was under review and promised to release it in the coming days. Despite this, Samsung owners continued to report issues into November, with the company vowing to provide an updated app compatible with Samsung TVs.
The precise technical cause of the outage remains undisclosed, but it may stem from compatibility testing or release coordination issues. Criterion spokesperson attributes the delay to Samsung's review and publishing procedures, which are outside Criterion's control and have taken longer than anticipated. This is not the first time Criterion Channel subscribers have faced technical difficulties.
In January 2025, an update reportedly caused the app to crash on Samsung smart TVs when users tried to play a film. Some users could still access the 24/7 live stream of curated films, but individual movie playback caused the app to crash.
Critics have long noted the Criterion Channel's app problems from the service's launch in 2019. A Gizmodo writer who tested the service a year later highlighted numerous glitches, including films cutting off early, obstructed with error messages, and playback issues on Samsung smart TVs. Despite the service's fantastic film library, its subpar tech has hampered the user experience. The user interface remains awkward, with film descriptions truncated, requiring users to seek additional information elsewhere.
Written by urgent.news from Fast Company's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
