You press play. The video does not come from AWS.
Netflix builds its own servers — Open Connect Appliances — and gives them away to internet providers. Free hardware. The ISP supplies rack space, power and a network port.
Every night, during the quiet hours, Netflix fills those boxes with tomorrow's likely catalogue.
By evening peak, the show you want is already sitting inside your ISP's building. It never crosses the open internet.
Diagram — WHO DOES WHAT:
| Layer | What it handles |
|---|---|
| AWS | Login, search, recommendations, playback authorisation |
| Open Connect | The actual bytes |
Nobody pays anybody. Netflix partners with over a thousand ISPs on exactly these terms, because both sides win: the ISP stops buying expensive transit capacity, and Netflix stops being at the mercy of it.