Netflix has added another content partner to its increasing roster, and this one combines digital downloads with Blu-ray movies. Good news for the companies involved, the consumers, and digital distribution?
Movie and television content streaming company Netflix seems intent on making its service as accessible to as many people as possible, setting multiple partnerships in an effort to enable its content to be delivered to the maximum number of homes.
Sub-$100 Roku Box
This strategy started back in May when Roku released its new set-top box, which came with the ability to stream Netflix movies. The box may have been derided in some quarters, but at just $100, it opened up digital content to a whole new level of consumers on a budget.
Since then, Roku has announced that the box will expand to include other content partners in time. YouTube, Hulu, and Amazon Unbox were cited as the most obvious candidates, but no names have yet been revealed.
Netflix On Xbox 360
Earlier this month at the E3 Expo, Microsoft announced details of the deal it had done with Netflix which sees the company’s content available on the Xbox 360 console – Xbox Live Gold get the service for free.
Blu-ray/Streaming Hybrid
Now the third partnership in a run of four has been announced, with LG introducing a new Blu-ray and streaming video hybrid player. Netflix is a definite partner, but like Roku, LG is keen to add further digital content partners in the future.
The LG BD300 will come in at under $500, and play Blu-ray movies as well as Netflix content. This is a device that gives the best of all worlds: high definition content, streaming video content and tradition standard DVDs.
Netflix Content
The big problem is still the amount and range of content available on the Netflix ‘Watch Now’ service. The inventory of movies and television shows currently sits at around 12,000 items, but according to Mashable, that includes such gems as Otis, Zero Woman: Dangerous Game, Room 314, Blushing Bloopers, and The Madness of King George.
Compare that to Amazon’s 40,000 title strong streaming on demand service, and the shortfall is plain to see. If Netflix can up the quantity and quality of the content on offer then these partnerships could actually prove successful.
The Real Winners
The real winners are the companies such as Microsoft, Roku and LG, who end up with content already available on their products straight from launch, and the option to add more content partners in the future.
And of course the consumers, who now have a range of options to fit most budgets and needs. This is also good for the growth of digital downloads, as the more devices there are on the market, the more likely mainstream acceptance is going to follow.
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