The days of streaming Netflix movies on your laptop in lieu of paying exorbitant prices to watch movies on your larger, preferable high-def hotel TV may be coming to an end, at least if you’re staying at Marriott. The hotel chain will offer access to Netflix, as well as Hulu Plus and Pandora starting at eight locations, Bloomberg reports.
“We have invited leading technology companies and content providers to work with us to design the next wave in in-room entertainment focusing on on-demand programming,” John Wolf, a spokesman for Bethesda, Maryland-based Marriott, told Bloomberg.
See also: Marriott Will Let You Use Your Own Wi-Fi, Like It’s Doing You A Favor
What about Amazon Instant Video, you ask? Its original series, Transparent, just beat out Netflix, HBO, and all of the major cable and broadcast networks for Best Comedy Series at the Golden Globes! It’s also bankrolling 12 new original movies! Indeed, but Netflix remains on top of the movie-streaming hill, with more than 50 million people subscribing specifically for entertainment.
Hulu Plus has approximately 6 million subscribers, but its chief attraction are fresher TV show episodes that take a while to show up on Netflix. That means it’s not really competition, not yet anyway. Meanwhile, NBC Universal and Disney share in Hulu’s ownership, and no doubt Netflix doesn’t want to run afoul of its content providers.
Amazon doesn’t disclose numbers, but one analyst estimates there are between 30 million and 40 million Amazon Prime members in the United States. It’s not clear how many of those members take regular advantage of Instant Video as part of their Prime membership, or whether they’re mostly just in it for the speedy delivery.
At any rate, when Netflix signs up for a big synergy such as this one with Marriott, it’s unlikely it would allow its chief competitor to take part in the deal. This is the sort of lesson hardcore Netflix fans would’ve picked up on while binge-viewing House of Cards.
Lead image courtesy of Netflix
