Netflix lifts time limits, invites subscribers to stream away
NEW YORK -- Netflix eliminated time restrictions on its video-streaming service for all subscribers except those to its $4.99-a-month plan. Before, customers had about an hour of streaming for each dollar they paid for mail-delivered DVDs: For example, those who pay $16.99 a month got 17 hours of streaming time.
"In talking with members … the idea of streaming unlimited movies and TV episodes on a PC resonated quite strongly," Netflix chief marketing officer Leslie Kilgore said.
Pali Research analyst Rich Greenfield said in a note that Jobs likely will announce an agreement with Fox, and possibly other studios, that enables iTunes to sell and rent their movies the same day they're available on DVD. Up to now, Disney has been the only studio that provided downloads of new flicks through iTunes.
Greenfield says that if he's right, then it would be a blow to cable and satellite companies: Their VOD services usually don't get new movies until several weeks after they're available on DVD.
Netflix, with more than 7 million subscribers, could be affected, too, "because of the clout that Apple carries," says Jackson Securities analyst Brian Bolan. "It's connected, via iTunes, to millions of customers. Those are all potential Netflix customers."
Blockbuster also is in the game with its stores, an online service with more than 3.1 million subscribers, and website Movielink, which rents and sells movies and TV shows. Netflix spokesman Steve Swasey says it's a coincidence that its announcement comes just before Jobs' address to Macworld.
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