Netflix adds streaming video to rental offerings

Perhaps sensing an impending threat to its business model from the likes of Apple and Microsoft, online DVD rental site Netflix announces it will allow users of its service to stream full-length movies online, starting this month. The task is accomplished via proprietary streaming software (which users will have to download and install on their PCs) and Netflix will allot an amount of free monthly streaming time to users based on their existing subscription plans. At present, only 1,000 of Netflix's 70,000 movies will be available via the service, to a select portion of subscribers. The company hopes to expand the service during the coming months, while also adding support for a variety of hardware and software, including set-top boxes (currently the service is only available to Windows/Internet Explorer users). While the streaming movie market has yet to take off, this is a wise movie for a company like Netflix, which will eventually have to stave off competition from online video services as they astutely did with competing mail-based DVD rental services.

For more on Netflix's streaming movies:
- see this New York Times article