Netflix now accounts for 25% of North American Internet traffic

If for some reason you need further convincing that Netflix is taking over our lives, you only need to look at Sandvine’s latest report, which shows that the video streaming company is now the biggest source of North American web traffic, accounting for 24.71 percent of aggregate traffic.

Netflix also accounts for about a third (29.70 percent, up from 21 percent last fall) of all download traffic — not surprising, since high-definition streaming is a … Continue Reading

Miramax brings its movies to Netflix streaming in June

Tarantino fans rejoice! Netflix announced today that it has inked a multi-year deal with Miramax –  the studio behind films like Kill Bill, The English Patient and Pulp Fiction — to stream its movie library starting in June.

Not only is the deal another massive grab for content from Netflix, it’s also Miramax’s first stab at a digital distribution deal since Disney sold off the studio to an investor group for $660 million last … Continue Reading

Zediva wants to stream DVDs directly to consumers — seriously

Zediva, which is launching today, is yet another contender in the online movie streaming arena with one curious twist: It literally streams DVD discs to viewers over the web.

By doing so, Zediva is able to offer new DVD releases far sooner than  competitors like Redbox and Netflix, both of which have signed rental delay deals with movie studios in exchange for access to content. The service currently streams video to computers, Android devices and … Continue Reading

Amazon takes on Netflix with Prime instant videos

Now we have yet another way to view streaming movies online. Amazon today launched its streaming video service for Prime members, which will offer subscribers access to 5,000 movies and TV shows and will serve as Amazon’s first move to counter Netflix’s streaming video dominance.

Amazon’s Prime service costs $79 a year and was initially billed as a way to get free two-day shipping (and one day shipping for $3.99 per item). That aspect of … Continue Reading

Can Redbox and Amazon take on Netflix’s streaming video service?

Kiosk DVD rental company Redbox will soon launch a subscription-based Internet streaming service, much like Netflix’s streaming video service, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Company president Mitch Lowe confirmed the news yesterday in an analyst meeting. Redbox previously announced that it would launch some sort of digital service, but it was unclear if consumers would have to pay for every movie they wanted to watch, or if it would be an all-you-can-eat buffet with a … Continue Reading

New Apple TV sales nearing 1M, but rival Roku is keeping up

The hype around Apple’s $99 revamped Apple TV seems to have died down, but it looks like sales haven’t, as it’s set to cross one million units sold later this week, according to Apple.

But that’s not slowing down the success of rival set-top box maker Roku, which saw its sales double when the new Apple TV was launched in September, the company’s CEO Anthony Wood revealed in an interview with Business Insider. It expects … Continue Reading

Google TV's first update brings improved Netflix, Android remote app

Two months after Google TV devices hit the streets, the platform is seeing its first major update, bringing with it an improved Netflix app, a remote control app for Android and more.

I mentioned in my review of the Logitech Revue with Google TV that its Netflix experience had a lot of room for improvement. Google TV launched with a simple Netflix app that let you watch streaming video titles but didn’t offer the ability … Continue Reading

How much are new TV episodes worth to Netflix? Try $100K

Netflix is apparently willing to shell out big bucks to acquire new TV episodes, according to a report by the New York Post.

A source tells the paper that Netflix is negotiating with studios to acquire individual new TV episodes for $70,000 to $100,000. If true, the news means that Netflix is looking to take on Hulu directly, which already offers new TV episodes for streaming the day after they air on TV.

Netflix’s pursuit … Continue Reading

Netflix combats Hulu Plus with $7.99 streaming-only plan, raises DVD plan pricing

Netflix today officially unveiled a $7.99 subscription plan that only gives you access to its streaming movies and TV episodes.

The pricing is exactly the same as Hulu Plus, the company’s premium offering, which lets users watch recent TV episodes and archived content on their TVs and portable devices.

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings hinted that he was looking into such a plan back in September, and it was rumored for months before. The move makes … Continue Reading

Netflix streaming video now disc-free on the Nintendo Wii

Nintendo announced today that Wii owners can now watch Netflix streaming video without the need for a Watch Instantly disc.

Instead, Wii owners can download the free Netflix application from the Wii Shop Channel, and install the service directly on to their Wii Menu home screens. Nintendo also announced that more than 3 million Wii owners have already connected to Netflix — a number that will surely rise quickly thanks to the disc-free option.

The … Continue Reading

Netflix's Playstation 3 app goes disc-free, leapfrogs Xbox 360 with 1080p HD video, surround sound

The battle for the best Netflix experience in your living room rages on. Sony announced today that Playstation 3 owners will no longer need to use a disc to access Netflix’s streaming service starting October 18, and the console’s Netflix experience will also be improved with a slew of exclusive new features.

PS3 owners (and Wii owners) have been forced to use a disc to watch Netflix’s streaming content since they received the service in … Continue Reading

Netflix considers streaming-only plan, adds Battlestar Galactica and a slew of NBC TV shows

Netflix may soon offer a subscription plan specifically geared towards streaming video, according to a short blog post by CEO Reed Hastings. The company also announced today that it has landed a content deal with NBC Universal that will allow Netflix to stream more TV episodes from NBC, USA, and SyFy.

Hastings’ blog post was meant as an apology for comments he made earlier to The Hollywood Report. When asked if US consumers would react … Continue Reading

New Apple TV may finally offer Netflix streaming video access

As if we needed any more rumors surrounding Apple’s media event on Wednesday (we covered the major rumors in an earlier post), we’re now hearing that the company may finally bring Netflix’s Watch Instantly streaming video service to its revamped Apple TV, three unnamed sources tell Businessweek.

Netflix’s streaming video service was first released in 2007 with support just for Windows PCs. It quickly gained popularity as it landed on popular devices like the Xbox … Continue Reading

Netflix's Watch Instantly app lands on the iPhone and iPod Touch

With little fanfare, Netflix this morning updated its app on the iTunes Store — which previously only supported the iPad — to work on the iPhone and iPod Touch.

The app has been a long time coming. Netflix launched its iPad app earlier this year, and it quickly became one of the biggest selling points of Apple’s fledgling tablet. The company’s CEO Reed Hastings said in June that it expected to release the app this … Continue Reading

HBO to make a Go of own streaming service without Netflix

Netflix has had a good string of content licensing deals recently for its streaming video service — first with Relativity Media and then with fledgling premium network Epix — but HBO’s co-president Eric Kessler says HBO is unlikely that the network would make a deal with Netflix, Bloomberg reports.

“There is value in exclusivity,” Kessler said in an interview with Bloomberg. He went on to say that consumers “are willing to pay a premium for … Continue Reading

Netflix in talks with pay-TV network Epix to stream films from Paramount, MGM, Lionsgate for $1B

Update: Netflix has confirmed the deal, reports All Things Digital.
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Slowly but surely, Netflix is beginning to resemble a premium TV network more than the disc rental company it started out as. Apparently, Netflix is in serious negotiations to pay nearly $1 billion for an exclusive five-year streaming deal with the young pay-TV network Epix, sources familiar with the situation tell the LA Times.

The arrangement would include films from Epix’s equity partners Paramount, … Continue Reading

Netflix signs rental delay deals with Universal and Twentieth Century Fox, gets more streaming titles

Update: Netflix has confirmed the deal, reports All Things Digital.
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Slowly but surely, Netflix is beginning to resemble a premium TV network more than the disc rental company it started out as. Apparently, Netflix is in serious negotiations to pay nearly $1 billion for an exclusive five-year streaming deal with the young pay-TV network Epix, sources familiar with the situation tell the LA Times.

The arrangement would include films from Epix’s equity partners Paramount, … Continue Reading

Netflix now shipping instant streaming discs for Wii

Update: Netflix has confirmed the deal, reports All Things Digital.
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Slowly but surely, Netflix is beginning to resemble a premium TV network more than the disc rental company it started out as. Apparently, Netflix is in serious negotiations to pay nearly $1 billion for an exclusive five-year streaming deal with the young pay-TV network Epix, sources familiar with the situation tell the LA Times.

The arrangement would include films from Epix’s equity partners Paramount, … Continue Reading