Looking more
like a regular TV network, Netflix has struck deals with a number of small multiple system operators and TiVo that will give the subscription video-on-demand service its own cable TV
“channel.”
Through TiVo set-top boxes in the U.S. on cable systems own by RCN, Atlantic Broadband and by Grande Communications, Netflix will get its own channel position -- as
well as its logo and name on TiVo’s electronic program guide.
These cable systems represents under 1 million cable subscribers.
Some analysts view this deal partly as
symbolic -- since customers could access Netflix through on-screen apps, as well as Roku, Apple TV (and the upcoming Amazon Fire TV), as well as other smart-TV boxes.
Still, these are the
first cable TV deals allowing subscribers to access Netflix content without switching back and forth between different set-top boxes and remote controls.
Netflix will retain its billing
relationship with customers -- meaning that Netflix subscribers will still need to pay their $8 a month for the subscription video-on-demand service.
Tom Rogers, president and CEO of TiVo,
has said about the deal: “Our view has long been that the marriage of linear television and streaming over-the-top (OTT) TV is the future of television, and Netflix has clearly emerged as a
must-have OTT service.”
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