New device getting Netflix: PS3 Confirmed

[Elandyll]

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Netfli....html?x=0&.v=1

Netflix stock hits new high as device deal looms

Netflix shares climb to new peak as investors bet device deal will propel subscriber growth

On 2:48 pm EDT, Friday October 23, 2009

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Netflix Inc.'s stock price climbed to a new high Friday as investors shook off concerns about the DVD-by-mail pioneer's rising expenses and focused instead on an upcoming deal that is expected to bring in a large wave of new subscribers.

Shares soared as high as $57.50 before easing back to $54.16 in afternoon trading, still up $4.53, or 9.1 percent, for the session. The rally marked a new peak for Netflix's stock since it went public in 2002 and extended a surge that has more than doubled the Los Gatos, Calif.-based company's market value during the past year.

The latest buying spree was spurred by the growth potential of Netflix's supplemental service for streaming video over high-speed Internet connections. Netflix stirred the excitement late Thursday by revealing the streaming service will soon be available through a device already owned by a large number of consumers.

Although Netflix management didn't provide specifics, analysts quickly concluded the company probably has arrange to stream video through one of two video game consoles, Sony's Playstation 3 or Nintendo's Wii. That would give the console owners an incentive to sign up for one of Netflix's subscription plans so they could stream movies and TVs shows.

Netflix credits an existing agreement to stream video through Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360 for helping Netflix add 2.4 million subscribers since September 2008 -- the biggest burst of growth in the service's 10-year history.

Propelled by the upcoming deal with the device maker, Netflix predicted it will attract 900,000 to 1.2 million more customers in the fourth quarter. The company ended the third quarter with 11.1 million subscribers.

"We believe hybrid DVD subscription and video streaming model continues to strike a chord with consumers," Citigroup analyst Mark Mahaney wrote in a Friday research note.

Friday's rally reversed the sentiment of investors late Thursday after Netflix released its third-quarter earnings and fourth-quarter outlook.

Although the third-quarter results exceeded analyst estimates, management predicted it wouldn't earn us much in the fourth-quarter. The forecast puzzled some people because Netflix projected its fourth-quarter revenue would be higher than the third quarter, raising worries about the company's costs.

Netflix management confirmed it plans to increase its spending on promotions and Internet streaming as it prepares to introduce the option overseas next year.

In a first, Netflix also shared some information about on how much its U.S. subscribers are using the streaming service. About 42 percent of Netflix's customers streamed at least 15 minutes of video in the third quarter, up from 22 percent at the same time last year.

Most customers still prefer renting DVDs through the mail, partly because Netflix's streaming library doesn't include very many recent releases of movies or TV shows.

I'm going to put my pessimistic hat on this one. Given that Netflix uses the Silverlight technolgy (developped by MS), there is probably a sort of "exclusivity" contract between MS and Netflix, and probably one that protects the 360 vs the PS3 even moreso than the Wii.
So ... unless said exclusivity period is ending, it is probably the Wii that'll get Netflix on demand before the PS3.

If that were to happen, feel free to move to Off topic.

This being said, -if- it was the PS3 that's getting Netflix for Xmas ... that could be a master stoke if Sony was to communicate efficiently on this and with a ton of advertising.

EDIT: Well, I shouldn't have put my pessimist hat on it seems now
PS3 it is !!