Netflix lets Apple TV owners subscribe on screen
Cough up through iTunes too
When Apple ships the new Apple TV on 16 March, owners of the small set-top box will be able to sign up for Netflix on screen and pay for the subscription streaming service through their iTunes account.
Netflix said the tie-in will allow ATV 3 owners to watch "thousands of hours" of 1080p HD content.
Folk using the ATV 2 won't get movies and TV shows at that resolution - the box can't handle it - but they will gain Netflix's "seamless sign up and billing experience" through a software update, the company promised.
That's a reference to the iOS 5.1 update Apple began pushing out to devices last night, though on the ATV it's numbered 5.0. ®
COMMENTS
Re: Who is paying the 30% Apple cut ?
Remember though Apples 30% tends to content distribution which is solely done through apple. Netflix has its own content which it is streaming.
Apples benefit is that Netflix gives people more of a reason to look at iTV. Netflix expands the subscriber base. If Netflix can bring get people on the iTV, Apple can then start pushing its garden on everyone.
Right now, what reason would you have to get iTV. You need content, but I suppose if you sell enough koolaid, you can take the tablet approach and build a bigger ipad which can be run by your little iPad.
iplayer
Would love to see iplayer/4OD, etc supported as well
Re: ATV2 can't handle 1080p content
Where does it say that they won't detect that? It's strongly implied that as you will be able to sign up to Netflix on ATV2, you are also able to stream content.
Netflix already has different quality streams for their content, as well as dynamically switching between them on the fly depending on available bandwidth.
Double fail?
They need to make a statement on this.
These deals cost a lot from the rights holders so that 30% to Apple would really mean something like 50% less content on a costed basis.
We the user lose out with this overhead.
Re: Who is paying the 30% Apple cut ?
This is a hot topic of conversation all over the 'net right now.
First off, it's highly unlikely that the price will be higher over iTunes - that would look REALLY bad for Apple, wouldn't look good for Netflix, and is such an obvious disaster that it's just not going to happen.
Second, most people seem to agree that a) Netflix probably wouldn't pay the 30% - if nothing else, they probably can't afford it, and b) Apple is unlikely to budge on it's 30% standard.
Since the second point is inherently contradictory, something obviously gave somewhere, but exactly what, and where, and how, is at the moment anyone's guess. Let's face it - this deal is good for Netflix AND Apple - Apple TV is not, has not, and doesn't really look apt to do well on it's own, and Netflix could use all the subscribers it can get - so long as it gets them at a price that makes them even barely profitable. Maybe Netflix is getting something from Apple to make it worth eating a 30% hit to a small set of it's subscription base. Maybe the two - *quiet gasp* - compromised? We may never know while it's still relevant. *shrug*
-d
