Netflix plans to offer streaming-only subscription plans

Friday, February 27, 2009, 10:02
Technology
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netflix Everyone will agree that it was Netflix that lit up people’s lives as far as watching movies is concerned. It is Netflix that has made it possible for you to watch movies without leaving your home. It started by offering you red envelopes that arrived in the mail, and then moved on to direct-to-computer video streaming. It seems that the streaming service has proven to be very popular. The streaming service has proven to be so popular that Netflix will offer a stand-alone streaming subscription service. This news was confirmed by the company’s Chief Financial Officer Barry McCarthy.

However, the company has not divulged any details of the same. McCarthy said the new subscription will be available in the “foreseeable future.” This statement is quite broad. At present, if you are a Netflix subscriber, then you receive DVDs and Blu-ray discs in your mail. You can watch movies instantly through your computer, TiVo, Xbox 360, Roku box, or LG television sets.

It was being widely speculated that Netflix will sooner or later offer this service as a stand-alone option. It was Netflix that launched the “Watch Instantly” feature back in 2007. The feature was not an instant hit in the market due to scarcity of available movies and the restriction of watching the movie only on a PC. Then Netflix tried to introduce different platforms, including Mac support and Netflix was all ready to rock and roll. At present, Netflix offers in excess of 12,000 movies for online streaming. The company keeps on adding movies to its streaming database every week. Incidentally, Netflix is one of the few companies that are actually doing well in this economic recession.

But in order to be successful in this stand-alone streaming option, Netflix will have to keep the prices down. If Netflix offers streaming alone for around $5 a month, the initiative will surely bear fruit for both the company and the users. Otherwise there are many other expensive plans in the market that the users may opt for.