Netflix streams through Samsung Blu-ray players
Machines have access to 12,000 titles
By Danny King -- Video Business, 10/23/2008
OCT. 23 | Netflix and Samsung reached an agreement allowing owners of Samsung's Blu-ray Disc players to stream Netflix's movies and TV episodes directly to their TVs, marking the second such agreement Netflix has made with a component maker in less than three months.
Buyers of Samsung's BD-2500 and BD-2550 players who have broadband Internet access will be able to stream content from Netflix's inventory of 12,000 titles, Netflix said in a statement today. People who already own the players, which retail for $399, can get a free upgrade to allow for the streaming.
Netflix has been trying to boost subscribers by augmenting its by-mail service with an expanded inventory of titles through its streaming service.
In late July, Netflix made a similar agreement with LG Electronics, which last month started selling a Blu-ray Disc player that instantly links up with Netflix’s streaming service. Since then, Netflix has announced agreements to carry video-streaming content from Liberty Media's Starz movie channel, Walt Disney's Disney Channel and CBS.
"Samsung has been at the forefront of innovation in consumer electronics and has established a market leadership position in Blu-ray and digital TV," Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said in today's statement.
In May, Netflix introduced a set-top box allowing customers to stream from an inventory of what was about 10% of its 100,000 titles. Later that month, Hastings said products such as Netflix Player by Roku, which had to be back-ordered within three weeks of its introduction, would double the company’s subscriber base within a decade.
Earlier this week, Netflix cut its fourth-quarter sales and subscriber forecasts for the second time this month after reporting that its third-quarter profit jumped 30% on a 23% increase in subscribers. The company also said this month that it would raise subscriber rates by $1 a month for customers who want access to Blu-ray discs.
Netflix also said today that it's working with Samsung on integrating the streaming service "into a range of home entertainment products."
