While everyone's attention has been diverted to how Dish Network (Nasdaq: DISH) could use Blockbuster to challenge Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX), number one satellite provider DirecTV (Nasdaq: DTV) has been quietly positioning itself as a streaming competitor to Netflix and wants to know what it's customers think.
"DirecTV plans to offer a streaming-only Netflix-like service for a flat fee per month which would appear as a line item on your monthly bill," the satellite provider said in a survey sent to selected customers, asking those subs to "evaluate" the idea.
Dish has been grabbing headlines and attention-and even a mention from Netflix execs during a first quarter earnings call-because it went out on a limb and bought Blockbuster. DirecTV, on the other hand, has quietly been reinforcing its online offerings that can be accessed either via direct Ethernet or wireless connections to certain high-end set-top boxes.
For more:
- CNET has this story
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