[wmf]

Could this be a plan for Netflix to even out the upstream traffic & downstream traffic?

No, because that would not help them.

A lot of ISPs are demanding payment because they claim they're absorbing more traffic than they're sending back.

This is just a misdirection tactic from ISPs who have no intention of offering free peering to Netflix under any circumstances. Backbone peering agreements are irrelevant since neither Netflix nor broadband ISPs are backbones.