Netflix to stream directly to LG HDTVs

Netflix continues its aggressive play to bring videos directly to the living room Monday, as it announced a partnership with LG that will make its on-demand streaming movie service available on LG HDTVs beginning in the spring. Netflix currently offers about 12,000 titles through the service, but it has yet to negotiate deals to allow it to offer stream new releases. It has previously announced deals to distribute its service to Xbox 360s, LG and Samsung Blu-Ray players, and TiVo and Roku set-top boxes.

TVs with built-in connectivity devices could really be game-changers for the whole online video industry, not just the streaming movie companies. Though standards issues and other roadblocks to uninhibited consumption of internet content on the TV remain, this announcement shows the gap between the TV and internet is narrowing. Currently, an additional piece of equipment, like a set-top box or next-gen gaming system, is required to access rich media content on 99 percent of TVs. Direct broadband connections to the TV could cause a surge in adoption, as the cost and technical know-how to connect will substantially decrease. With its Netflix announcement, LG joins Panasonic, Sharp, and Samsung in offering TVs with direct connection capabilities. 

For more:
- see the Wall Street Journal article here 

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