Hey Tracey
I know you had inquired about the Roku and someone else had mentioned that
Netflix content would soon be available via the Xbox360. It looks like Samsung
and LG now offer Blu-ray DVD players that can play streaming content from
Netflix as well. I may go this route when I upgrade my DVD player after the
first of the year.
Bosco
Netflix, TiVo team up after 4-year courtship (AP)
* Posted on Thu Oct 30, 2008 7:41AM EDT
SAN FRANCISCO - Home entertainment trendsetters Netflix Inc. and TiVo Inc. are
finally joining forces to deliver more movies and old TV episodes to their
mutual subscribers, consummating a relationship that was supposed to come
together four years ago.
Under the partnership announced Thursday, the latest generation of TiVo's
digital video recorders will be able to beam selections from 12,000 movies and
TV shows offered through Netflix's streaming service, which must be piped over
high-speed Internet connections. TiVo's DVRs will start catering to Netflix
subscribers in early December.
The collaboration fulfills a promise made in 2004 when DVR pioneer TiVo and
online DVD rental trailblazer Netflix set out to develop a system for
delivering video directly over the Internet. But they got sidetracked after
Netflix couldn't work out licensing deals with movie and TV studios.
By the time Netflix cleared the licensing hurdle and launched its Internet
streaming service 21 months ago, the two companies had decided to pursue other
partners.
But a reconciliation was inevitable, according to the leaders of Netflix and
TiVo, whose Silicon Valley headquarters are about 18 miles apart.
"It's just a natural pairing and we are thrilled to finally be working with
them," said Reed Hastings, Netflix's chief executive officer.
"I don't think there is any question we have gotten more frequently than, `What
about TiVo and Netflix working together?'" said TiVo CEO Tom Rogers.
Coming off the first back-to-back quarterly profits in its 11-year history,
TiVo is betting its ties to Netflix and other content providers like Amazon.com
Inc. and Google Inc.'s YouTube will help distinguish its $299 DVRs from the
generic recorders peddled by cable TV providers.
Alviso-based TiVo ended July with 3.6 million subscribers and Los Gatos-based
Netflix ended with 8.7 million subscribers. The streaming service is available
at no extra charge to any Netflix subscriber paying at least $8.99 per month
for DVD rentals — a prerequisite that most customers meet.
TiVo will join other companies that sell devices that make it easier for
Netflix's streaming service to be shown on a TV set instead of a computer.
Since Silicon Valley startup Roku Inc. introduced a $100 player tailored for
Netflix's streaming service five months ago, Microsoft Corp. has agreed to
tweak its video game console, the Xbox 360, so it can draw from Netflix's
Internet library beginning next month. And both LG Electronics and Samsung
Electronics are selling Blu-ray DVD players compatible with Netflix's streaming
service.
Netflix eventually hopes to have its streaming service on dozens of devices,
including TVs with built-in wireless connections to the Internet.
The growing selection of streaming devices could help boost Netflix's profits
by causing subscribers to request fewer DVDs. Each DVD rental makes a round
trip through the postal service that costs Netflix 84 cents, so fewer requests
will lower expenses — just as management is striving to save money to offset
slowing revenue growth.
Netflix still has to pay movie and TV studios licensing fees for the streaming
rights, but that doesn't cost as much as mailing DVDs, said Wedbush Morgan
Securities analyst Michael Pachter.
"Netflix has really stumbled upon something that's pretty clever," Pachter
said. "It's kind of a win for everyone because the customer gets the instant
gratification of watching a movie over the Internet, studios get more licensing
fees and Netflix saves money."
