“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.
As we start moving toward more net based movie delivery systems, one can only wonder how well the infrastructure of the internet will hold up with the massive increase in bandwidth needs.
Apple is experiencing an amazing ascendancy. They’ve always ruffled feathers, but now, it seems that every move puts them at odds with a new business category. They’re essentially competing against everyone now. Even more, NetFlix’s attempt to preempt what Apple may offer shows that they understand the potential threat Apple truly can be. This will be quite an interesting battle.
MDN: why do you even have to say it?
Until Obama really says something – lets get his ads off of here – they annoy me.
netflix’s streaming video doesn’t work on Macs . . . a source of major irritation to me. I’m paying for a Netflix service I can’t use . . . I can’t imagine Apple will match Netflix’s deal, but I sure am going to look at it closely . . . .
Until you become a Republican President, you can’t dictate free speech.
“Until Obama really says something – lets get his ads off of here – they annoy me.”
Gotta agree with that one. But what annoys me even more are the ‘youth’ sector and Oprah fans who are pissing their knickers over this wanna-be. I wonder if he and Dr. Phil take turns or simultaneously shove their heads up Winfrey’s arse.
hhmm. I’m not sure their really going to charge $3.99 for solely 24 hours. I think that’s a little steep. You might as well buy the movie. Then again its coming from sources like on demand and other services who are trying to make the business as generic as posible.
$17 for unlimited downloads?
Why wouldn’t that make sense?
Why should we expect anything less from Apple?
Wake me up when this is over.
Well, that’s calculated.
The Netflix move, I mean, not the BS partisan tangent you guys went off on.
ekeby: agreed 100%.
‘Netflix lifts restrictions”?
Netflix, what kind of boneheaded move is this? I suggest you do a little market research before you alienate your customers. Consumers want more restrictions, DRM and ads. Microsoft knows this and is the only company with the courage and resources to put it into action. Ads customers can’t skip, complete DRM solutions to protect the customer’s investment and usage limits are the future.
Do you really want the hippies at Apple defining how you can use your content? It’s all ‘free love’ and ‘if it feels good, do it’ with them. Jobs even wrote a letter against DRM. He’s losing it. Trust Gates and Ballmer. They’ve got our back.
Your potential. Our passion.™
Problem with Netflix instant is that it only runs on XP or Shista…
so… unless they change that…
Here’s what you get when you try to use watch instantly using firefox on 10.5.
Your system is not compatible with watching instantly
Your computer’s operating system is not compatible with watching instantly.
Try again from a computer running Windows XP Service Pack 2 or Windows Vista.
To watch instantly, you need a computer with the following configuration:
Minimum Requirements
* Computer running Windows XP with Service Pack 2 or higher, or Windows Vista
* Internet Explorer version 6 or higher
* Windows Media Player version 11 (DRM version 5145) or later
* An active broadband connection to the Internet
* 1.0 GHz processor
* 512 MB RAM
* 3 GB free hard disk drive space
Screw Netflix for not supporting Macs.
@ change rocks?
MDN is known for it’s copious, somewhat tasteless advertisements.
This little dealie here:
http://safariadblock.sourceforge.net/
… is a lifesaver, and makes the site palatable.
“Until you become a Republican President, you can’t dictate free speech.”
And speaking of our Führer, did you catch the video of him in Bahrain waving that sword around. I swear I’ve seen footage with Saddam Hussein doing the exact same thing. I can just see Bush now, standing on the White House terrace, wearing a fedora and using one hand to shoot a rifle in the air. Hell, he’d gas the liberals if he could get away with it.
Yeah, Netflix has had a whole year to get this thing working on Macs. Now, they will certainly lose my business to either Apple or Blockbuster (if Apple’s rental service isn’t up to snuff.) They have nobody to blame but themselves. I think they don’t realize how many mac users are netflix subscribers. Well, not for long.
What really gets me mad is that Netflix is essentially saying that money from a windows user is more valuable to them then money from a mac user. So, F* them, I’m taking it elsewhere.
Magic Word: Poor. As in, what a poor decision to exclude mac users from their full service.
edit: “valuable to them THAN” not “THEN”
my bad.
MW: There. As in There, I fixed my grammar mistake.
Z.T.,
“Trust Gates and Ballmer. They’ve got our back.”
Yeah, but just don’t bend over.
For $3.99 you should be able to keep the movie for at least a week. 24 hours… that is not invation. I’d rather go rent a dvd.
Does it work on a Mac? Will it play on my iPod Touch or iPhone? If not forget it Netflix. I want it managed with iTunes and playable to all my iPod players.
Netflix does not work on Macs. Movielink, vongo, etc. do not work on Macs.
Apple will offer rentals that work on Macs and PC’s, it will be somewhat successful(not overwhelmingly,but it will do ok). Better would be Macs, PC’s and iPods. No, it’s not innovative, but it does beat being limited to windows and ie only.
I prefer pay as you go, no pressure to meet a minimum number of movies watched or songs downloaded model over a subscription.
@Net-trix
I can’t tell you how that much annoys me. I can’t shake the feeling that I’m paying for services I’m not receiving… which makes me very much not want to remain a Netflix biddy.
MW:makes lolz
Agree with ekeboy and Tom Strong. I’ve been with NetFlix for maybe two years, and resent paying for the same fare as every other user, but being denied one of their services because I don’t run Windows.
This is fantastic. The more the studios and record companies give Apple’s competitors, the more long term they will have to give Apple too.
Lifting DRM and dropping some songs to 89c through Amazon, increasing the number of movies, lowering rental costs and increasing watching time through ‘NetFlicks’ will increase the service Apple will be able to negotiate in the future. If no one offered that level of wholesale service, there would be no precedent.
I just wish they had thought more about their customers than their shareholders and brought these services in pro-actively.