Netflix aims to roll the new service out to its subscribers over the next six months. Subscribers will continue to receive DVDs from the company’s extensive catalog by mail but will have the additional option of instantly watching around 1,000 movies and TV series on their PCs.
Netflix said that the introduction of the immediate viewing feature is part of its plan to lead the overall movie rental market by adding electronic delivery to its existing DVD delivery platform. Netflix is specifically focusing on the rental segment of electronic delivery, distinct from the download-to-own market and advertising-supported electronic delivery.
The new feature differs from current services in that it does not require the often lengthy downloading of a large video file. Netflix’ service uses real-time playback technology that allows video to be viewed at virtually the same time it is being delivered to a user’s computer. Following a one-time installation of a browser applet, most subscribers’ movie selections will begin playing in their web browser in as little as 10 to 15 seconds.
Although the immediate viewing feature will initially only offer about 1,000 titles, its selection will expand over time as licensing for electronically delivered movie rentals widens. Furthermore, the number of titles available at introduction roughly mirrors the number of DVD titles Netflix carried when its subscription service was launched in 1999.
The new feature will be included in subscribers’ monthly membership plans at no additional cost. The hours available for instant watching will vary based on subscribers’ monthly plans. For example, subscribers on the entry-level $5.99 plan will have six hours of online movie watching per month, while subscribers on Netflix’ $17.99 for unlimited DVD rental plan will have 18 hours of online movie watching per month.
We named our company Netflix in 1998 because we believed internet-based movie rental represented the future, first as a means of improving service and selection, and then as a means of movie delivery, said Reed Hastings, Netflix’ CEO. While mainstream consumer adoption of online movie watching will take a number of years due to content and technology hurdles, the time is right for Netflix to take the first step.
Over the coming years we’ll expand our selection of films, and we’ll work to get to every internet-connected screen, from cell phones to PCs to plasma screens, he continued.
