Netflix, the streaming-video and DVD subscription service, may soon offer an instant-streaming only option in the U.S. The feature is one that the company already began offering in Canada last month.
This week, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said that the success of its streaming-only service in Canada has got the company considering testing the option in the U.S., as soon as later this quarter.
When Netflix first discussed offering a streaming-only service last year, Hastings said that “Everybody also wants to get DVDs. […] When there is demand, it will make sense for us to meet that demand for streaming only.”
Now, Hastings commented on the company’s earnings report, saying, “If our results are as strong as we think they will be, then we will look to start this offering later in this Q4. Pure streaming could become our core offering in the USA, and DVD would be offered as a supplement for an additional charge, like we offer Blu-ray today.”
For those of us more often on the move than not and those of us living off netbooks and smartphones, the move sounds ideal. If Netflix shaves a couple bucks off the monthly fee, it may even lure in those with DVD players that just want to save a buck. And as the Internet-connected TV becomes increasingly popular, the idea of waiting for a DVD in the mail just becomes silly. We want what we want, and we want it now.
