There almost seems an edict at Sony that it should wait until every one of its rivals has a head start before entering a market, otherwise why would it have let Microsoft have the Neflix market to itself for so long in the US. This week, the Netflix online film phenomena continues, and now movies can be viewed on the immensely powerful, but stupidly marketed PlayStation 3.
Given that the PlayStation was launched a year late by Sony because it wanted to use the device as a tactical weapon in the DVD wars, which it won by bundling a Blu-ray player into every PS3, it shows that Sony was focused on movies for this device. But when the Netflix online film service began taking off, why was it the last in line to add the service to a device which had become synonymous with movies?
Now Sony Computer Entertainment America and Netflix say they will make thousands of movies and TV episodes available to be streamed instantly to TVs via the PS3 beginning in November, with a free upgrade in the US only.
The PS3 now claims to have 9 million installs in the US while Netflix has 11 million subs there, or 10% of US homes. Netflix began life as the original online DVD rental company, and many companies have copied its business model outside the US, for instance LoveFilm in the UK and Europe.
However the Neflix online viewing deal has really accelerated its growth, simply because it offers free online streamed video viewing if customers have a large enough monthly DVD subscription fee. In that sense it is very similar to TV Everywhere. It protects the older business model. It is by far the most popular online service in the US and Netflix has aggressively chased device manufacturers to offer software plug ins to attach its service to existing devices, including Blu-ray players and of course the Xbox, which has been hugely successful.
The service has been implemented as a portal on the PlayStation Network, something that Sony was again slow to build and push to customers, compared with its rival Microsoft, but which is picking up speed now.
The service will cost $8.99 a month and will need Netflix membership, and will give access to unlimited movies and TV episodes streamed to the system as well as unlimited DVDs delivered direct to home.
The PS3s need to be registered first to make use of the service, and this will be done by inserting a special Netflix Blu-ray disk into the PS3 when it is online.
Netflix members and PS3 system owners can now reserve a free instant streaming disc for PS3 systems by going to www.netflix.com/ps3, which will come in the post a day or so later.