Netflix Via 360? Survey Says… Maybe
In recent months, DVD-by-mail darling Netflix has been re-branding itself as a video-on-demand service with a strong broadband component, and judging by a recent user survey conducted by the company, they’re contemplating a push into the next-gen game console space as well. According to Reuters, Netflix is asking customers if they’re interested in streaming movies via the Xbox 360. When the news service asked if this means they’re about to jump into bed with Microsoft, a company spokesman coyly demurred, except to note a desire to distribute movies “in as many ways as possible.”
If the survey results are positive enough, I suspect it’ll end up a done deal. Regardless, the fact that Netflix is even feeling out this possibility suggests a larger takeaway: Forget about Blu-ray, think broadband streaming.
Sony was recently crowing about its triumph over Hollywood studios, which after much pressure, largely acquiesced to rejecting HD-DVD in favor of the conglomerate’s high-definition Blu-ray standard. Trouble is that for Sony, almost all of its Blu-ray install base is in the PS3, the third place next-generation console that’s struggling to compete with the 360. If the 360 adds a movie-streaming feature with the name-brand cachet of Netflix, however, it’ll be Sony that feels the pressure to add a competing service. In the ensuing struggle, Blu-ray would most likely lose its luster to the appeal of getting instant movies at a button’s touch.
Provided, of course, Netflix or a competing service keeps pushing into this space. Watch this space for more developments.
Popular
- BitTorrent After The Pirate Bay: Do You Still Need Trackers?
- Tumblr Marriage Proposal: Behind the Scenes of Justin and Marissa's Engagement
- Get Ready for Flash Player 10.1 to Stream P2P Video to Millions, Swap Files BitTorrent-style
- Ten Sites for Free and Legal Torrents
- The Megawoosh Waterslide Viral: How It Was Really Done
- Six Steps To Get More HD From Your Scientific Atlanta Set-top Box
Recent
- BitTorrent After The Pirate Bay: Do You Still Need Trackers?
- Microsoft and Nielsen Partner for 1 vs. 100 Measurement
- Premium Content Drives Connected Device Adoption
- Site Sponsor: Twistage
- Tumblr Marriage Proposal: Behind the Scenes of Justin and Marissa’s Engagement
- Sungale’s Sub-par Portable Media Player
Network
- Weekend Vid Picks: Twilight Parodies For Bitter Boyfriends [NewTeeVee]
- Skype CEO Outlines Platform Ambitions, Hiring Plans [GigaOM]
- Earth2Tech Week in Review [Earth2Tech]
- WWD Weekend Reading List [WebWorkerDaily]
- WinMo Wrap: Marketplace Hits All WM 6.x Phones; Opera Mobile Advances [jkOnTheRun]
- Weekly App Store Picks: November 21, 2009 [TheAppleBlog]
© 2009 The GigaOM Network. Marketing consulting by ACS.
one problem with your reasoning, netflix ran the same survey about streaming to the ps3, only difference was a one time charge of a few bucks for a disk needed for the ps3.
that still may mean the blu-ray loses luster, but it won’t mean the ps3 loses out completely.
You say the PS3 is ’struggling to compete’ with the 360? What are you on? It has outsold the 360 worldwide for the last 17 weeks and that’s without releasing any of its big exclusives yet. Microsoft slashed the price of the 360 in the EU a few weeks ago to half that of the PS3 yet the PS3 is still outselling it there. The 360 is being outsold in Japan about 10:1 every week by the PS3 and it has been outsold by the PS3 in the US every week so far in 2008.
The only reason the PS3 is behind the 360 in total sales is because the 360 was released a year earlier. The PS3 has recently reached 11m sales and it did so faster than the 360 did.
Some of you playstation fan boys crack me up.
I have a playstation 3 as well (I bought it for the player) and I’m still waiting for the lower priced blueray movies. Now that blueray won I highly doubt the price will drop any time soon. I’m sure Sony has to make up the revenue after buying out and cutting deals with movie studio’s to beat out HD-DVD.
However if Netfix offers movies and (HD) content via down load I can see where Xbox 360 will have the advantage.
Even if Dave was correct (above) and it was offered to Playstation 3 owners I can see where blueray movie discs might be put off onto the back burner.
i just know that at 30 bucks a pop for one movie, I’ll continue to wait.
Currently Netfix’s most expensive offer is24 dollars a month (with four movies ordered at a time) and that is whole lot cheaper.
I just visited the Netflix website and it appears that they’re still pushing the old DVD by mail model. You have to hunt around to find info about the real-time streaming. I’m surprised that the online movie streaming business is so devoid of competition. Except for CinemaNow, who else is there? If I can watch full-length movies on Hulu for the price of just watching a trailer, why can’t Netflix make a buck but streaming movies for $3.99? It looks like they still want to sell you a package plan.