Netflix

Redbox Instant video streaming said to launch in December

Redbox Instant -- Verizon's stab at a video streaming service to compete with Netflix -- is said to be launching by the end of the year.

Users may be able to start using the service as soon as December 17, according to GigaOM. Also, it's looking like Redbox Instant could cost as low as $6 a month.

Redbox Instant is a joint venture announced in February between Verizon and Coinstar -- the company that owns the Redbox DVD rental business. The companies aim to develop an on-demand video streaming service with DVD rentals, much like what Netflix offers.… Read more

Access the hottest TV shows and movies on the Web with Netflix

Having access to a potentially infinite cache of media files at your fingertips is a nice thought. However, you need a stable app that can deliver those files quickly and efficiently to your Android device, and that is exactly what the Netflix app is designed to do.

Placed on a throne as the world's leading Internet subscription service for streaming movies and TV shows, Netflix went an extra mile and created its mini version for Android devices. The interface of the Netflix app is more or less straightforward; there's a shows option, a search bar, and some account-based … Read more

The 404 1,168: Where we pass judgment on the Nintendo Wii U (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Watch Jeff go nuts on the Wii U.

- German police stop man with mobile office in car.… Read more

Netflix is immediately available on Nintendo's Wii U

In the flurry of news on Nintendo's Wii U launch this weekend, one aspect stuck out: streaming services like Netflix, Hulu Plus, YouTube, and Amazon Instant Video, along with Nintendo's TVii service, were to be delayed for a few more weeks.

However, Netflix announced today this is incorrect. Contrary to the news reports, there will be no delay for Netflix on Wii U's launch -- the company announced that the service became available on the console this weekend.

"Netflix is available today on the Wii U home screen with the Wii U launch in the US … Read more

Is streaming video costing Amazon up to $1 billion a year?

If Reed Hastings is trying to paint Jeff Bezos as a spendthrift, Amazon's CEO might just take that as a compliment.

The Netflix CEO gave an interview to Dow Jones today in which he said Amazon is losing between $500 million and a $1 billion a year as a result of acquiring rights to streaming video content.

In the interview, Hastings said he came up with the numbers after comparing the value of the content deals Amazon won when the two companies directly competed for rights.

No doubt, it's an expensive business and Hastings should know given that … Read more

Wii U to ship incomplete, missing Nintendo TVii service and more

Just like the 3DS before it, Nintendo's Wii U console will ship with limited functionality, falling short of what the company promised would be available on launch day this Sunday, according to a Nintendo press release.

Most notable from the release is the absence of the Nintendo TVii service, the free program the company had said would be available from day one. TVii will be activated for the Wii U sometime in December. As you may recall, TVii is the live TV, TiVo DVR, and streaming service integration that aims to become the jumping-off point for your living-room entertainment. … Read more

The man with the election's winning numbers

Besides President Obama, the big winner on Election Day was big data.

Big data's patron saint -- FiveThirtyEight blogger Nate Silver -- won the battle to predict the outcome of the contest between Obama and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. Where breathless pundits brandishing equivocating polls shouted from the rooftops over the last few weeks that the race for the White House was a "toss-up," or "too close to call," Silver and other poll aggregators sat back and calmly told anyone who would listen that the math told another story: Obama's re-election was never … Read more

Carl Icahn considered hostile takeover for control of Netflix

Activist investor Carl Icahn said today he has considered launching a hostile takeover bid for Netflix, in which he recently acquired a 10 percent stake.

When queried on the approach to gain control of the Internet streaming and DVD rental service, Icahn told CNBC: "The thought had certainly entered my mind. I have to admit I think about it, but we haven't made that decision."

While saying a hostile takeover was "certainly an alternative," the billionaire and former corporate raider called Netflix's recent adoption of a "poison pill" plan to defend against … Read more

Netflix gobbles a third of peak Internet traffic in North America

Netflix users are turning into the biggest data hogs in North America, a new report suggests.

The report from Sandvine, a company that sells Internet traffic-management systems, finds that Netflix use accounts for 33 percent of all downstream traffic in North America during the peak hours between 9 p.m. and 12 a.m. By contrast, Amazon and Hulu only account for 1.8 percent and 1.4 percent of downstream traffic, respectively.

During peak time, 65 percent of all fixed-line data traffic across North America is delivered through audio- or video-streaming services, so Netflix accounts for a little over … Read more