One Million Xbox 360 Users Tap Into Netflix Streaming Movies
By Chris Maxcer
Despite the fact that the Xbox 360 has an irritatingly loud fan, one million Xbox LIVE Gold members have downloaded and activated the Xbox LIVE application from Netflix since Microsoft and Netflix announced their alliance last November.
The Netflix application lets Internet-connected Xbox LIVE members use their Xbox 360 to stream Netflix movies, in tandem with their existing Netflix accounts. In less than three months the Xbox LIVE community has watched 1.5 billion minutes of movies and TV episodes, Microsoft says. Who knows how many movies and TV shows that actually translates to, but one million Xbox LIVE customers getting in on the action . . . not bad, not bad at all.
“Adding Netflix to our ever-growing library of 30,000 movies and TV shows makes Xbox 360 the best value in home entertainment,” noted John Schappert, corporate vice president of Interactive Entertainment for the LIVE Software and Services Business at Microsoft.
“With over 1 million activations and 1.5 billion minutes watched to date, Netflix is a great win for Xbox living rooms nationwide. These families are getting more entertainment from Xbox 360 than from any other device connected to their TVs,” he added.
Netflix has 9.4 million subscribers, with 12,000 movies and TV episodes available for instant online watching. For comparison, Netflix offers 100,000 titles on DVD.
The cost to stream Netflix movies to the Xbox 360 — or other devices like The Netflix Player by Roku — starts at $8.99 per month, which also includes DVD rentals.
Amazon.com Hover Links:
- Xbox 360 Pro Holiday Bundle 2008 Includes 60GB Hard Drive
- Xbox 360 Live 12 Month Gold Card plus 1 Month Bonus
Filed Under: Connected Home • Console Action • Featured
About the Author: Chris Maxcer is editor and publisher of 