“Girding for a potential threat from Apple Inc., online DVD rental service Netflix Inc. is lifting its limits on how long most subscribers can watch movies and television shows over high-speed Internet connections,” Michael Liedtke reports for The Associated Press.
“The change will become effective Monday, on the eve of Apple’s widely anticipated move into the movie rental industry. Although Apple hasn’t confirmed anything yet, Chief Executive Steve Jobs is expected to make it official during a presentation Tuesday in San Francisco,” Liedtke reports.
“Netflix is gearing up for the increased competition by expanding a year-old feature that streams movies over the Internet instead of making customers wait for their online rental requests to be delivered through the mail,” Liedtke reports.
“Until now, Netflix restricted how long its more than 7 million subscribers could use the streaming service each month, based on how much they pay to rent DVDs.
For instance, under a popular plan that charges $16.99 per month to rent up to three DVDs at a time, Netflix customers could watch as many as 17 hours of entertainment each month on the streaming service, dubbed ‘Watch Instantly,’” Liedtke reports.
“With Monday’s change, virtually all Netflix subscribers will be able to stream as many movies and TV shows as they want from a library containing more than 6,000 titles. There will be no additional charge for the unlimited access,” Liedtke reports. “Only the small portion of Netflix customers who pay $4.99 to rent up to two DVDs per month won’t be provided unlimited access to the streaming service.”
“Removing the time constraints on its streamed entertainment could give Netflix an advantage over Apple’s movie rental service. Apple will charge $3.99 for movies that can be downloaded and played for up to 24 hours, according to media reports citing people familiar with the company’s rental plans,” Liedtke reports.
“Apple’s rental service is expected to offer its customers more flexibility, allowing movies to be viewed on the Cupertino-based company’s ubiquitous iPod and iPhone, as well as on computers,” Liedtke reports.
More in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader "Brenden" for the heads up.]
Somebody’s getting nervous.
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