Monday, 3 November 2008

After LG and Samsung, Netflix Now Ropes in TiVo

In a recent announcement Netflix and TiVo said that the former would begin placing its Watch Instantly streaming-movie service on the latter’s HD-compatible set-top boxes.

The ability to stream Netflix movies and TV shows will begin beta testing for select TiVo owners immediately, with an official roll-out scheduled for early December. It will be available on TiVo HD, HD XL, and Series3 DVRs (not Series2 or DirecTV models). There will be no extra charge as long as the user has a Netflix subscription that costs over USD 8.99 USD.

“For us this is very much aimed at new customers,” said Tom Rogers, chief executive of TiVo. “There are nine million Netflix subscribers out there who are movie lovers and who want something that really adds juice to their overall television experience.”

Over the past year, Netflix has signed deals with LG, Roku, Samsung, and Microsoft to digitally deliver their catalog to televisions everywhere.

In addition to the recently announced formats, Netflix subscribers can access video through computers, television sets with Netflix-ready devices, and disk players. The company offers instant streaming and rentals. It counts more than 8 million subscribers and 55 distribution centers in the United States.