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Netflix CEO says Mac client and Blu-ray emphasis on the way

20 October 2008 23:12 by Rich "vurbal" Fiscus | 7 comments

Despite the spectre of a recession looming over the US economy, Netflix Founder, Chairman, and CEO Reed Hastings is confident about his company's position for the remainder of the year. Although he sees slower growth than last year he predicts that recent and future developments will continue to fuel profitability.

One of things Hastings spoke proudly about in a presentation that was part of the company's third quarter earnings conference call today was the deal struck recently with the Starz premium cable network. Starz opted to close their Vongo service, choosing instead to let Netflix provide internet delivery for them.

He pointed out that one of the biggest stumbling blocks for providing such services is the contracts the big networks have that tie up major studio content, adding "With this new model we think we can generate increased profit for Starz, increased profits for Netflix, and over time for the studios."

He also spoke extensively about innovations that are around the corner for the Netflix streaming service. The previous quarter saw the introduction of the first Blu-ray player that can be used to stream movies from Netflix, LG's BD 300. He also hinted at additional players with Netflix support coming in the future, saying "we'll announce more Blu-ray partnerships as they're ready for consumers."

But the company isn't planning to ignore people who prefer to watch on a computer. In fact he indicated an important innovation in the form of support for Intel-based Macs. "This quarter we'll begin the rollout of our second generation player software which runs on both Windows and Intel Macs," he said. "It's a huge step forward for online video players and we'll be announcing the details shortly."

And what about their core business of DVD rentals? His predictions were slightly less rosy there, but he still believes the company will continue to do well, even during the hard economic times its customers face right now.

He said "It now appears that the recession means continued subscriber growth for Netflix, but not as fast as last year. This quarter to date our net adds are positive. In other words we are growing. But our net adds so far this quarter are about 30% less than 1 year ago."

He's counting on revenue from the company's Blu-ray program to help those profits. He predicts about half a million customers will opt in for Blu-ray access, which will mean an extra $1 per month in exchange for access to discs in the hi-def format.

He also sees growth in that market as player prices fall below $300, which he seems to feel is an important price to stimulate additional sales.

Permalink to this article | Topics: Blu-ray Gadgets Online video

Netflix and TiVo partner up for movie streaming (30 October 2008)

DreamStream signs on to encrypt Blu-ray competitor (30 October 2008)

Netflix streaming goes HD on Xbox 360 (29 October 2008)

Netflix streaming service available on Macs (27 October 2008)

OWC launches Blu-ray/HD DVD burner with multiple inputs (23 October 2008)

Samsung Blu-ray players to connect with Netflix (23 October 2008)

Netflix raises rates for Blu-ray subscriptions (12 October 2008)

"New Xbox Experience" coming November 19th (9 October 2008)

Netflix announces deal with Starz (2 October 2008)

CBS and Disney added to Netflix streaming service (23 September 2008)

LG bringing Netflix-streaming Blu-ray player (31 July 2008)

Microsoft announces deals with Netflix, NBC-Universal (15 July 2008)

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Discuss this article!
limelight (Member) 21 October 2008 21:27
Netflix on ps3 please. [ + quote]
ugc (Member) 22 October 2008 10:44
love netflix. And I would think that the slow economy would mean better growth for them. Because people (including myself) have to slow down on the "going out", and stay home more, to save money. That means, I need entertainment at the house. So I stick with the Big THREE: Booze, hookers, and Netflix ... Never have to leave home. Think of all the money I'm saving! lol [ + quote]
varnull (Inactive) 22 October 2008 10:47
^^^ you gotta respect that :) My big 3 are booze, the evil weed and demonoid 0.0 Free open source software = made by end users who want an application to work. The flower of carnage-shura no hana.. [ + quote]
jookycola (Member) 22 October 2008 21:43
*Originally posted by limelight:* Netflix on ps3 please. Yes please. [ + quote]
error5 (Senior Member) 23 October 2008 8:57
*Originally posted by jookycola:* *Originally posted by limelight:* Netflix on ps3 please. Yes please. Not on the PS3 yet but on Samsung BD players: Netflix and Samsung Partner to Instantly Stream Movies on Next Generation Blu-ray Disc Players [ + quote]
club42 (Member) 23 October 2008 20:40
*Quote:* My big 3 are booze, the evil weed and demonoid 0.0 Lol at least I'm not the only one. [ + quote] This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 23 October 2008 20:54
Toshibot (Junior Member) 24 October 2008 9:36
*Originally posted by limelight:* Netflix on ps3 please. Netflux, Hulu etc on the PS3 and 360: http://www.themediamall.com/playon Nifty little app and works as advertised. [ + quote] This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 24 October 2008 9:42