Netflix is partnering with Korean manufacturer LG Electronics to stream movies and other programming to LG's high-definition televisions. Reed Hastings, CEO of Netflix, says he hopes to strike other
such deals and that Netflix would soon be viewed as a movie channel that might appear on myriad devices.
The move could help transform Netflix from a successful company with a
cumbersome dependence on physical media and the Postal Service into an important player in a rapidly emerging digital media landscape. Richard Doherty, research director of the Envisioneering Group, a
market research firm, says Netflix's model has the virtue of being free to existing subscribers and relatively easy for consumers to understand.
The deal with LG is something of a
strategy shift for Netflix. The company had been experimenting with building its own Netflix-brand set-top box. But CEO Hastings says that integrating Netflix into other companies' devices makes more
sense. He also says that the company's new digital effort does not augur the end of its valuable DVD-by-mail business.
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