Xbox Live tallies 1 million Netflix Watch Instantly activations, 1.5 billion minutes served
by Richard Lawler 
posted Feb 5th 2009 at 3:01AM
For Release 12:01 a.m. PST
Feb. 5, 2009
Feb. 5, 2009
One Million Xbox LIVE Members Download and Activate Netflix on Xbox360
1.5 billion minutes watched instantly by Xbox LIVE community.
1.5 billion minutes watched instantly by Xbox LIVE community.
REDMOND, Wash., and LOS GATOS, Calif. - Feb. 5, 2009 - Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: "MSFT") and Netflix Inc. (Nasdaq: "NFLX") today announced that 1 million Xbox LIVE Gold members have downloaded and activated the groundbreaking Xbox LIVE application from Netflix since the alliance launched last November. In less than three months the Xbox LIVE community has watched instantly 1.5 billion minutes of movies and TV episodes.
The Netflix application offers Xbox LIVE Gold members the ability to instantly watch movies and TV episodes from Netflix on a television via the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system. Xbox 360 is the only gaming and entertainment console that lets viewers instantly watch movies and TV episodes streamed from Netflix. Xbox LIVE Gold members who are also Netflix unlimited members can instantly watch movies and TV episodes streamed instantly from Netflix on Xbox LIVE for no additional fee.
"Adding Netflix to our ever-growing library of 30,000 movies and TV shows makes Xbox 360 the best value in home entertainment," said John Schappert, corporate vice president of Interactive Entertainment, 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."
"Netflix continues to provide its 9.4 million subscribers unprecedented convenience, selection and value," said Netflix Chief Marketing Officer Leslie Kilgore. "With more than 100,000 titles on DVD and 12,000 movies and TV episodes available to watch instantly, there's no better way to enjoy movies than Netflix. As these strong results on Xbox demonstrate, Xbox LIVE is a terrific way for Netflix members to enjoy watching movies instantly on their TVs."
In addition to Netflix in the United States, Xbox LIVE Video Marketplace offers over 17,000 pieces of standard and high-definition (HD) content to the Xbox LIVE community. From December 2008 to January 2009, Xbox LIVE Video Marketplace downloads have grown 174 percent year over year.
More than 12,000 movies and TV episodes are currently available to watch instantly from Netflix, with more on the way. A growing percentage of choices that are available to watch instantly are also available in HD.
The library of movies and TV episodes available to watch instantly from Netflix via Xbox 360 includes scores of Academy Award winners and nominees; a number of popular, currently running and classic TV episodes; more than 20 of the movies rated by the American Film Institute among the greatest ever; and access to the Starz Play service.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
ben @ Feb 5th 2009 8:50AM
I've fallen asleep to Scanner Darkly the last 3 or 4 nights on NXE. Do they have to pay someone every time i do that?
ironmike26 @ Feb 5th 2009 9:28AM
does anyone know why netflix streams some content in HD to other devices but not the xbox360. I noticed in the device review that eternal sunshine of the spotless mind streams hd on all devices but the xbox360, it doesnt stream hd on mine as well, however i can stream hd in other pieces content on my fast broadband connection.
minimalist @ Feb 5th 2009 9:54AM
If anybody at Engadget HD ever figures out the HD streaming issue I'm sure a lot of us would love to know the solution.
I love Netflix streaming but HD on the Xbox is a total crap shoot. 9 times out of 10 shows that you know should be streaming in HD (30 Rock for example) end up streaming in SD. The few times you are lucky enough to see the "Presented in HD" tag it will usually downgrade to SD at some point during the show.
And since I'm running 8-10 Mbps ethernet directly to the Xbox from my router its got to be the Xbox itself. My Apple TV runs off the same connection in the living room has no problem streaming HD. Weird.
Doc @ Feb 5th 2009 12:56PM
Do you have DSL by any chance? I ask since only my friends with DSL have issues with streaming for some reason...so far.
minimalist @ Feb 5th 2009 7:47PM
No. I've got Comcast cable internet (the higher of the two speeds offered).
Its really weird.
mitchelljd @ Feb 5th 2009 10:54AM
You know it is pretty neat on Xbox, though it is not HD, which i hope they can do soon.
what this is ... is a wake up call for PS3 and Apple TV. they need to port a version of Netflix client for their devices!!!
mntwister @ Feb 5th 2009 1:02PM
Totally agreed, Playstation 3 needs the streaming, I am very surprised it isn't there already. My problem with streaming is that I really like the extras on many discs including commentaries, so if it were available, I'd probably use it on a bare-bones release only.
Does anyone know, are these downloads in 5.1 dolby surround and what ends up being the sound compression in kbps?
Fred @ Feb 5th 2009 2:03PM
so i take it that peoples xboxs are not dying to the 3 red rings anymore???
Rick Winkler @ Feb 5th 2009 4:40PM
I have a 360 with Netflix and SageTV with the Netflix customizations installed. I like the SageTV Netflix setup a lot better than the 360. There's a lot more options and better feature integration. The HTPC is also a lot quieter that the jet... er 360...