Netflix, the movie rental service that recently hit a milestone of 10 million subscribers is now making deals with movie sites to give users quick access to their Netflix queues from these places.
In fact, from the sounds of it, you’ll even be able to play movies from these sites when the streaming feature is available. For example, Netflix announced the first two partners today – the New York Times and Rotten Tomatoes. Wouldn’t it be cool to read a review of a movie, and be able to just add it to your queue or watch it right then by simply clicking a button on the site you’re on?
This could have a tremendous impact on Netflix’s already well-established brand. People could potentially see the Netflix options appearing on movie sites they visit on a regular basis and find the convenience of having Netflix’s presence right there enticing enough to give the service a try.
And speaking of Netflix’s streaming service, rumor has it that the company’s CEO Reed Hastings has been hinting about a possible pay-for-streaming-only service as early as this year or next. I contacted Netflix to try and find out a bit more about such plans, but as I figured, Steve Swasey, Vice President of Corporate Communications told me it was too early for any answers there.
Still, there is plenty of reason to believe that Netflix is going to have quite a year. It will be interesting to see what other partners get on board with the Netflix access buttons and how far they take their streaming efforts.
