Netflix to launch streaming video service in Canada this fall

Netflix, which is setting records for streaming online video--movies and television episodes--to television, PCs, Macs and mobile devices in the United States, says it's going north of the border to Canada in the fourth quarter.

The company added a link to its website that promises to let Canadians know when the service offering unlimited movies and TV episodes streamed instantly to TVs and computers would be available to them. The Canadian launch will mark the first availability of Netflix outside the United States.

Canadian Netflix members will be able to instantly watch a broad array of movies and TV episodes on their TVs via a range of consumer electronics devices capable of streaming from Netflix, as well as watching on PCs and Macs. It's unclear, right now, whether Netflix will be available on mobile devices-including Apple's iPad-or on gaming consoles, like the Xbox 360, Wii and PS3, as it is in the U.S.

While the launch will be Netflix's first streaming foray into the international market, it's also notable that the company's DVD-by-mail service, upon which it was originally based, won't be headed to the Great White North, this will be a streaming-only product. Netflix in the past has said the DVD business eventually would slowly fade into the background as streaming demand increased.

At the time of launch, the Netflix Canadian service will be available in English only, but the company said it expects to add French language capability over time.

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