On-demand entertainment-streaming service Netflix is reportedly courting the idea of a new service – as soon as movies hit the silver screen, they can be viewed live, on the same day, in one’s home.
AllThingsD reported Netflix is toying with the idea of forking out cash so that as soon as a ‘big’ movie hits the cinemas the same movie can be watched in one’s home if they are using the Netflix service.
Could this spell the end of the movie-going era?
Just this past September, Siliconrepublic.com reported Netflix was seemingly trawling through pirate sites online to see what type of videos, films, documentaries and content people were downloading illegally. The reason for this? To target the digital content and snap up the rights to it for its own service.
According to AllThingsD, Netflix’s chief content officer Ted Sarandos spilled the beans in a keynote he gave during the Los Angeles Film Festival on Saturday to launch the Film Independent Forum.
Sarandos hinted that Netflix might be soon giving new movies to its subscribers – by becoming a “first-run distributor”.
“What we’re trying to do for TV, the model should extend pretty nicely to movies,” Sarandos said.
“Meaning, why not premiere movies on Netflix, the same day they’re opening in theatres? And not little movies – there’s a lot of ways, and lot of people to do that [already]. Why not big movies? Why not follow the consumers’ desire to watch things when they want?”
Last week, Netflix reported its Q3 financial results, revealing it had quadrupled its profit in the third quarter, coupled with a 1.3m gain in customers in the US. Its net income for the quarter was US$32m, up from US$8m in the year-ago quarter.
Netflix has been available in Ireland and the UK since January 2012.
Movie-ending screen image via Shutterstock
