Netflix has upped the ante--again--making a deal with an array of CE manufacturers to include a Netflix button that will take users directly to their Netflix account on remote controls for connected TVs, Blu-ray players and OTT STBs beginning in the spring.
Netflix said the button will be on TVs and devices from Best Buy's in-house Dynex brand, Haier, Memorex, Panasonic, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, and Toshiba. Sharp, Sony, and Toshiba also will place the Netflix one-click button on remote controls for select new Internet-connected TVs. Remote controls for the Boxee, Iomega and Roku set-top boxes also will feature the Netflix one-click remote.
"We've always regarded ubiquity on devices as our strategy, and we want to be present there as simply and visibly as possible," Netflix spokesman Steve Swasey told Digits.
Netflix has more than 16 million subscribers in the U.S. and Canada, and says there are more than 250 Netflix ready devices on the market.
As more connected TVs and devices come to market adding more apps and content that compete for users attention--including competitors like Amazon, Apple and Vudu--securing a position on a remote control could be a game changer. At the very least, it gives Netflix an edge in an increasingly tough segment.
A recent study said nearly half of connected TV owners actually access the Internet through the device, and some 57 percent say they're happy with the results.
NPD Group's Connected TV Owners Study also found that of the users who have connected to the Internet, 57 percent say they use it to access Netflix; some 47 percent say they access YouTube; and 54 percent say they access other networks in the home from their connected TV.
For more:
- see this release
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