Hacking NetFlix

Apple & Netflix in January?

Mac Columnist Jason O'Grady wonders if Netflix & Apple might be working on a partnership.

While I can definitely see Hastings being introduced by Steve Jobs during his January 9 keynote address, there's another big factor at play here. Netflix is a potentially huge competitor to iTunes. Apple already sells downloadable movies via the iTunes Store so the potential conflict may be too much for Apple to resolve. Do they build, buy or partner for video downloads and streaming?

What do you think? Apple & Netflix? What ever happened to TiVo & Netflix? I think January will be an interesting month...

Netflix in Ireland?

Davis Freeberg comments on a rumor about Netflix being a suitor for the Irish DVD-by-mail company Busy Bee DVD. According to ElectricNews:

Busy Bee DVD, Ireland's second provider of an online movie rental service, says it has been approached about a takeover from overseas -- even before Ireland's other provider has changed its name to reflect its acquisition last month, according to the Irish Independent. Busy Bee DVD says it has been approached by Netflix and by Screen Select. Meanwhile, says the paper, Dublin-based Screen Click is about to change its name to Lovefilm.ie to reflect its EUR3 million acquisition last month by LoveFilm.

The Irish Independent has a great overview of the Irish DVD rental market.

Is Netflix finally expanding into Europe?

Netflix Download & Burn Service?

Thomas Hawk has the scoop on two interesting rumors about Netflix:

The first is one is about a Netflix movie download service: "...the announcement of an independent download-and-burn service may boost the stock. " Why make the customer burn a DVD when they can watch it on their computer? Maybe the extra step is required to watch it on a TV, which is typically connected to a DVD player. I'm wondering what kind of DRM will be required to let customers burn movies? Will this require a special player? Is this a rumor or have the folks at Roth Capital leaked something?

The second part of the story includes, "...Roth thinks NFLX is posturing for a sale of the company." I think Reed Hastings is having too much fun to sell the company, but with a market cap of almost $1.4 billion...

Rumor: Blockbuster Dropping VHS

The Blockbuster Guy has sent in another rumor:

Okay people if you don't have a DVD player yet you might want to get one. Blockbuster will no longer sell or rent tapes in its stores, PERIOD. And people, you can start to see VHS tapes fade out everywhere over the next several years. VHS are becoming as obsolete as 8 tracks! Go out and buy a DVD player!

Blockbuster has said that DVD has increased the profit margin on rentals, so it makes sense to move to more profitable DVD titles.

With DVD players available for less than $30 it's no surprise that 83 million households have them now.

More Info on Changes at Blockbuster

"The Blockbuster Video Guy" sent me some additional rumors, er, information on the changes at Blockbuster.

When you rent a movie after January 1st, you have a one-week grace period before they charge you for the movie, less the rental price. If you return the movie before 30 days have passed, you will be issued a credit less a restocking fee of $1.25. After 30 days, no refund will be issued.

He noted that while they used to send outstanding balances to collection agencies, they did not report them to the credit bureaus. They will now be reporting to the major credit bureaus, so you could find that a small late fee might prevent you from getting the best rate on a car or house loan.

If you pay off your outstanding balance, you might be able to get a coupon for one free rental. If you're finally getting around to paying that late fee balance, be sure to ask if there are any perks for coming clean (after January 1st).

He is also confirming that guaranteed in stock rentals are gone for good, so arrive early on Friday to get your new releases for the weekend. New Releases usually come out on Tuesday, so keep that in mind if you absolutely must see a movie the first day.

Netflix & TiVo Rumor Now Includes Warner Bros.

For an unconfirmed rumor this story has been widely reported (ZDNet, News.com, Ars Technica, and more). The Netflix & TiVo video-on-demand service rumor has expanded to include a limited deal with Warner Bros. to provide movies for a test of the service.

Several important points from the News.com story, including a denial from Netflix:

Netflix spokeswoman Catherine England said Netflix has no deal with Warner Bros. to participate in a VOD service. She didn't comment on whether Warner Bros. has agreed to allow Netflix to use some of its content for a test.

Warner Bros. at least confirms that there is some substance to the rumors:

Warner Bros. spokeswoman Barbara Bargliatti confirmed that the studio was having discussions with Netflix, but said "there's no deal at this time."

TiVo is really playing hard to get:

A TiVo representative said the DVR (digital video recorder) maker has not announced a video-on-demand service.

It's no secret that Netflix is going to launch a video-on-demand service next year -- they've already announced it publicly. It's just a matter of Netflix getting the technology and deals in place, which could be difficult.

TiVo is rumored to be building copy-protection into the device, making life difficult for the majority of us and only slowing down the hackers that want to trade movies (they typically break most encryption schemes within days). I would love to be able to download a movie and be able to watch it on my television, my computer, a portable player, or even a burn it on a DVD to watch in the car. Why not?

I'm just wondering why I haven't been asked to be a beta tester yet. ;-)

Thanks to Aron & Joe for sending this over.

Rumor: Netflix & TiVo Partnering to Provide Movie Downloads

Newsweek is running a rumor about a partnership between Netflix & TiVo to provide movie downloads. At first, I was surprised that Newsweek is running a rumor as a story, but they claimed:

Spokespeople at the companies refused to comment on what they called rumor. But an insider who was close to the negotiations says the straightforward partnership is all but a done deal, pending only the approval of the TiVo board this week: "You don't need a lot of creativity to figure out the details," the insider said.

This makes a lot of sense. TiVo boxes are under $100 after rebates now. TiVo acquired the secretive company Strangeberry earlier this year, and their technology will enable TiVo boxes to get content from the Internet. Mike Ramsay, TiVo's CEO, sits on the Netflix board, and we also have Reed Hasting's famous quote about the company name:

In an interview with NEWSWEEK last year, CEO Reed Hastings predicted that by the end of the decade, Netflix will deliver most of its rentals over the Net, supplanting its distribution centers and trademark red envelopes. "We named the company Netflix, we didn't name it DVD by Mail," he said.

There is a possible problem: The cable companies might block the large movie downloads since they offer a competing service:

Cable customers could prefer the larger Netflix selection and download movies to their TiVo boxes using cable's own pipes. (The downloads will likely take several hours.) Unlike the phone companies, which are regulated as "common carriers" and forbidden from discriminating against customers or content, cable firms don't have to accommodate their rivals' traffic on their networks. But if cable closes the door to the Netflix downloads, customers could migrate to the phone industry's broadband offering, DSL.

Hmm... I might have to get a TiVo after all.

Thanks to Aron & Jon for sending this in.