Assuming you connected your Verizon IP to a VPN server that resides in a non-Verizon network, that test is insufficient to deduce that the ISP looks at the data

Assuming you connected your Verizon IP to a VPN server that resides in a non-Verizon network, that test is insufficient to deduce that the ISP looks at the data. As Verizon is saying, Netflix does not pay enough for the data that they send. They don't need to inspect the data. By connecting your VPN to a non-Verizon network, Verizon sees the Netflix stream coming from that network (not Netflix).