AfterDawn: News

Microsoft announces deals with Netflix, NBC-Universal

Microsoft has announced that it has struck two new deals in an effort to bring more media to their Xbox 360 console.

The first deal is with rental giant Netflix and will allow subscribers with an Xbox Live Gold membership to watch movies online for free. The Netflix feature should be part of a complete overhaul of the Xbox 360 interface which is expected in the fall.



The redesign will use a Cover-Flow-like interface that will allow for visual browsing instead of text. There will also be the addition of a "Primetime" channel "for live events and personalized avatars that can be integrated into games."

The second deal is with NBC-Universal and will add the studio's catalog to the Xbox Video Marketplace for rentals and downloads in both SD and HD. There will also be NBC's TV shows available. NBC programming is already available in the Zune Marketplace.

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 15 Jul 2008 1:40

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• 14 comments

• BobL

  I wonder if the Netflix streamer will have closed captioning support? Netflix's dedicated streaming set top box does not.
  
  - Bob

  14.7.2008 23:04 #1

• dragnandy

  the netflix one sounds like a good deal.

  15.7.2008 02:00 #2

• PantherM

  If the annual price stays the same for a gold membership, then that Netflix deal is pretty freaking cool.

  15.7.2008 02:41 #3

• redux79

  Netflix has been adding quite a few streaming titles as of late, apparently by the time this partnership gets off the ground the number of titles is suppose to double.
  
  The one question I have is when will everyone have to pay for the streaming option? It's free for those who have the 3-at-a-time or more option and soon to be xbox-live... will it cost more for netflix to run servers or mail individual movies?
  
  Most people who have had netflix for 6 months or more have experienced the throttling that occurs after you receive to many movies in a month, I have the 3-at-a-time plan and the ceiling for me is 15-16. What’s going to happen if say someone decides to stream a movie every day for a month? Or even 2 or 3 in a day far exceeding the original limit. Netflix won't have an excuse to prevent you from instantly streaming so the rates will have to go up.

  15.7.2008 06:39 #4

• Oner

  It is still unclear if Netflix will be totally free i.e. it may be free to access on LIVE! but you still may have to pay for a Netflix account on their side. Hopefully it will just be free.
  

  
  
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  15.7.2008 09:30 #5

• xdgen84

  From what I've heard, if you have live gold, you won't have to pay any additional fees beyond the live service and your current netflix subscription. What interests me is what content will be available. If it is only Netflix's streaming options, which are currently lacking, IMO, it may take a while to build and grow. Still, a great opportunity.

  15.7.2008 09:41 #6

• ZippyDSM

  From I have been reading no gold no "netflix live", and you need a NF current account to get it to boot.
  
  its not bad...but..really..MS.....you suck..... make gold free already... or double its worth....

  15.7.2008 11:32 #7

• emugamer

  Originally posted by redux79: Most people who have had netflix for 6 months or more have experienced the throttling that occurs after you receive to many movies in a month, I have the 3-at-a-time plan and the ceiling for me is 15-16. What’s going to happen if say someone decides to stream a movie every day for a month? Or even 2 or 3 in a day far exceeding the original limit. Netflix won't have an excuse to prevent you from instantly streaming so the rates will have to go up.Something is going to bring all of this to a halt. All of these video streaming devices are going to have an impact on what people pay for their internet service. Soon you are going to have much too many people who want to stream movies. They are going to be reluctant to do so when their ISP starts charging extra for every MB over their cap. But now they will have already paid for a subscription that they probably feel they are not getting the most out of. Watching a movie should only involve changing hands with one retailer. With this setup, you have to pay for XBL gold, then pay for a netflix subscription, and then possibly in the future pay more for the additional bandwidth usage (how high is the quality of the stream - how high of a quality are people going to expect as more and more invest in HD setups?). Streaming video seems to be where everything is going because more and more businesses feel they can dip their fingers in a consumers wallet. So like sharks to the chum, EVERYONE is now trying to get in on it. Nothing against MS. Just taking a step back and trying to see the overall picture. The bottleneck here seems to be how much people are will to embrace it once they realize the end cost.

  15.7.2008 12:03 #8

• grkblood

  I am not a 360 supporter by ANY means but I will say I was impressed last night on G4 when they announced that the movies you rent will be viewable by everybody in your party. So say if you and 3 guys in seperate houses wanted to watch a movie you could all do it at the same time. Im assuming that only the person who bought the flick has control over it though. Regardless, very neat.
  
  On a side note they are totally ripping off nintendo's miis and ps3's home.

  15.7.2008 13:24 #9

• Oner

  Confirmed, it is not exactly free.
  
  Quote:Xbox 360 will be getting Netflix's on-demand programming later this year. Xbox Live subscribers that already have Netflix memberships can enjoy Netflix on their TV at no additional cost.Source 1
  
  Source 2
  

  
  
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  15.7.2008 17:35 #10

• atomicxl

  Quote:Confirmed, it is not exactly free.
  
  Quote:Xbox 360 will be getting Netflix's on-demand programming later this year. Xbox Live subscribers that already have Netflix memberships can enjoy Netflix on their TV at no additional cost.Source 1
  
  Source 2I read that at Gamespot. Afterdawn could have avoided a lot of confusion had they included that part.
  
  Anyways, I haven't used the streaming service in a long time. I mostly watch anime from Netflix and they didn't stream it in japanese so I never tried to watch anything else. Plus the picture quality was kinda crappy. Back then picture quality was based on your internet connection. My ISP has tripled my download speed since then so maybe it will look alot better. But even if it did, the selection was always horrible. Even if they tripled it, would they actually add movies you want to watch or would it be "triple the amount of films you never wanted to watch anyways."

  16.7.2008 09:34 #11

• grkblood

  I wasnt aware that netflix already offered video streams since I don't use netflix. Since they do offer streams is there any other advantage to using netflix on the 360 other than the group viewings?

  16.7.2008 11:18 #12

• mspurloc

  The price:
  You must be both an Xbox Live Gold and a Netflix subscriber.
  
  The advantages:
  1. Close-captioned support is in the design. Whether Netflix will pass the vertical interval is up to them.
  2. The current Netflix stream model requires you to watch it on your computer. Useless to many. With Xbox 360 and Zune or Windows Media Player set up to stream, you'll be able to watch the Netflix content on any authorized computer or through your Xbox...on your TV. This is huge and removes the need to have a set-top box.
  3. You'll eventually be able to maintain your queue from your sofa.
  4. Windows Media Center now makes sense for everybody.
  
  The disadvantages:
  1. Think your 20GB drive is small now? Find your 120 GB box is filling up? Wait until this starts up.
  2. Think your Internet connection is slow now? Have you noticed that when you neighbor gets home the speed is cut in half?
  WELCOME TO THE INTERNET AFTER STREAMING.
  3. Netflix is considering restricting streaming to a new upper-tier structure, similar to their Blu Ray model. Same prices, but you'd have to have a 5-disc-a-month plan, or something of that sort.

  16.7.2008 14:25 #13

• susieqbbb

  Here is what concerns me.
  
  1. microsoft rips off nintendo's mii characters with help from rare.
  
  2. the new dashboard may eliminate the xbox 360 drive firmware hacks.
  
  3. is microsoft going to lower the price on the new 69 gig hard drive so we can afford to upgrade are hard drives.
  
  a lot of questions come up with this. but little answers untill it's release.

  17.7.2008 00:17 #14