Netflix Finally Breaks Into the Cable Box. Why Does That Matter?
Netflix (NFLX) is now on Channel 450, 750, and 879. The video service will be available as just another channel on the cable box for three smaller cable operators, part of a long-term effort to reduce the “friction” a viewer encounters when he or she surfs from a cable TV channel to Internet video.
The deal announced today will make Netflix available on TiVo (TIVO) set-top boxes leased to customers by Atlantic Broadband, RCN Telecom Services, and Grande Communications. The idea is that Netflix will appear seamlessly when browsing channels, the same as moving from ESPN (DIS) to CBS (CBS) to the Weather Channel without requiring users to switch inputs or remote controls—though it’s still available only to viewers who subscribe. “It puts Internet television at par with regular television, and ultimately that’s where we think it will go,” says Joris Evers, a Netflix spokesman. “It reduces friction when they want to watch Netflix.”
Continue Netflix Finally Breaks Into the Cable Box. Why Does That Matter? – Businessweek.
