MS to buy NetFlix ?

[patsu]

IMHO, this one is more interesting than the Epic buyout one.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23214808/

The original article says "close partnership", but you get the point.

 

[Mintmaster]

Makes perfect sense. Netflix's business model is exactly the type you could replicate with a hard-drive and internet connection, except you can get your movie in hours (or instantly if BW is good enough) instead of days through the mail.

 

[wco81]

They would buy it to probably eliminate the mail-order business so that there's no competition for digital distribution?

Or try to force Netflix customer base to DD?

 

[Sound_Card]

IMHO, this one is more interesting than the Epic buyout one.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23214808/

The original article says "close partnership", but you get the point.

Well MS seems to be on a buying frenzy attack mode. The Epic deal has some good points and merit to it, but I agree, a netflix buyout seems to scream legit all the way. This would be one giant step for digital distrubution for sure. A nice xbox live update come spring refresh?

 

[valioso]

They would buy it to probably eliminate the mail-order business so that there's no competition for digital distribution?

Or try to force Netflix customer base to DD?

are they going to buy blockbuster too? they have a mail order thing, I don't think digital distribution will ever eliminate all other forms of business, it will just be one more option in the pie

 

[AntShaw]

Or try to force Netflix customer base to DD?

Offer both!

Sign me up for this if it comes to fruition!

 

[Zassk]

Netflix already has a DD offering... Merging this with XBLM would be a win-win, and probably has nothing to do with their mail-order business.

(I bet that most DD's would kill to have a 'captive audience' > 10 million such as XBLM has.)

 

[joker454]

Assuming this went through, what stops Sony Pictures from not allowing any of their movies to be distributed via netflix over xblive?

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Presumably a contract with Netflix that Netflix have the distribution rights on whatever formats/platforms they choose, unless Sony have specifically excluded that option.

 

[joker454]

Presumably a contract with Netflix that Netflix have the distribution rights on whatever formats/platforms they choose, unless Sony have specifically excluded that option.

Fair enough, although I would assume Sony had considered the possibility that a 'hostile' company could aquire netflix. Even if they missed that somehow, the agreement likely isn't infinite, I presume it's something that has to be negotiated every year, two years, or some definite period of time. They can still pull the plug no? Unless theres some anti competitive laws against that sort of thing.

 

[joker454]

Considering how many studios Sony owns that are already on Live Video Marketplace, why would they stop this?

If it became too successful, maybe they might feel that it's working against blu-ray? I dunno, just a thought.

 

[valioso]

Assuming this went through, what stops Sony Pictures from not allowing any of their movies to be distributed via netflix over xblive?.

they like $$?

 

[wco81]

DD will be for a long time a secondary product to discs.

Until it's ready to replace a $42 billion market, studios are going to prioritize discs.

So they will probably do it selectively, like iTunes HD rentals where all the studios are supporting it but the quality is much less and the availability is not day and date with DVD.

They are in essence creating another window. They want you to buy discs first and then if you want PPV or VOD, you wait until discs have been sold for a few weeks.

 

[joker454]

they like $$?

Sure, but they'd be effectively helping to build a competing platform. Maybe they didn't have much concern when MS was going it alone. But now with netflix possibly in tow, it could be more of a substantial threat. I assume that both ms and sony want to control your tv/media room. Presumably this means that someday sony will want to have it's own movie download store like ms already does. So why would they take some cash in the short term, which longterm only builds their competitor?

 

[valioso]

Sure, but they'd be effectively helping to build a competing platform. Maybe they didn't have much concern when MS was going it alone. But now with netflix possibly in tow, it could be more of a substantial threat. I assume that both ms and sony want to control your tv/media room. Presumably this means that someday sony will want to have it's own movie download store like ms already does. So why would they take some cash in the short term, which longterm only builds their competitor?

Netflix already allows for watching the movies on your computer... I doubt Sony is going to cut themselves out of that huge market of netflix customers. I don't really think that this builds the xbox all that much to be honest, who's gonna spend $300 just to stream movies they can otherwise just wait a couple of days for..

 

[PARANOiA]

Am I correct in assuming Netflix currently services the US only?

Cheers

 

[Zassk]

Netflix already allows for watching the movies on your computer... I doubt Sony is going to cut themselves out of that huge market of netflix customers. I don't really think that this builds the xbox all that much to be honest, who's gonna spend $300 just to stream movies they can otherwise just wait a couple of days for..

Well, the Vudu and AppleTV exist because someone thinks a lot of people will do that for that price.

There's a big difference in waiting time between couple of days vs. a couple of minutes/hours.

I think the Netflix deal, if true, is mainly intended to expand the list of titles available on XBox so MS can stay competitive with Apple, who have aggressive plans.

 

[silhouette]

Well, the Vudu and AppleTV exist because someone thinks a lot of people will do that for that price.

There's a big difference in waiting time between couple of days vs. a couple of minutes/hours.

I think the Netflix deal, if true, is mainly intended to expand the list of titles available on XBox so MS can stay competitive with Apple, who have aggressive plans.

It is actually instant.. Your only waiting time is buffering, which is 20-30 seconds. THis will complement MS's service nicely. If you want higher quality, you can wait to download the entire show. If you are ok with a lower quality video, you can stream it. 360 has already have this capability with the last fall update.

 

[jb]

Id love it if netflix would steam movies to my xbox360! Nothing wrong with waiting in the mail, just over the 4 years I have been with netflix I have had to return my fair share of DVDs do to them being scratch/damaged

 

[cthellis42]

Wasn't there already a rumor a few weeks back that Netflix might be coming to the 360 and PS3? ...or at least that they were testing the waters with that?

It'd certainly be to Netflix's benefit to attach themselves to any prominent service or device they can. Their streaming is only available through IE right now (as it uses ActiveX), but they're moving to stretch to Firefox and OSX/Safari as well. It would behoove them to be attached to the Wii and PS3 as well, (Heck, even the PSP and DS and iPhone/Touch if they want to try for it.) and it would certainly be no real issue to whip up a streaming client on any/all of them. It would reach a lot more people, reach them on the road, and grab a whole lot more subscribers. (The portables might even make the most sense for them, as they'd appeal to a different market than the console crowd, and involve less bandwidth to stream to them.) They might have to shift the subscription level at which you can get unlimited streaming, perhaps...

Even if they do go forward with a Microsoft partnership first and advance a plan on the 360, is there any real indication that they'd be doing this exclusively? They might be able net a nice marketing splash with it right now, but it certainly seems like a way to only limit growth. Netflix has a popular and even well-fitting name to promote, and they'd be well-positioned to outgrow any of the other streaming startups; they should be getting to as many markets as they can as soon as possible, so long as they can do it well.