One million Xbox Live members using Netflix
updated 02:00 pm EST, Thu February 5, 2009
1m Xbox 360 Netflix users
Microsoft and Netflix on Thursday announced a milestone in their co-operation to bring Netflix movies to the users' homes via the Xbox 360 gaming console, saying one million Xbox Live Gold members downloaded and activated software that lets them access Netflix' library of movies and TV shows. This number was reached in just three months since the service was offered in November, with the equivalent of 1.5 billion minutes of movies and TV episodes consumed by the subscribers.
Users can stream movies directly from Netflix instead of having to cache the entire movie as part of the download, as is the case with services like iTunes or VUDU; the feature lets basic systems like the Xbox 360 Arcade view movies without requiring a significant amount of permanent storage.
The benchmark figure also lends support to the concept of subscription online movie services, which have so far been marginalized in favor of per-movie purchases and rentals. Having access to the Netflix library via the Xbox 360 consoles requires both an Xbox Live Gold membership (priced at $50 per year) and a subscription to Netflix, with monthly plans that qualify for the Internet component starting at $9 per month.
Not buying it!
02/05, 02:54pm reply
I am not buying that number. 1.5 Billion minutes over three months consumed by 1 million supposed subscribers then devided by the average movie length of 100 minutes for a full-length film amounts to just 5 movies per month per subscriber.
I get a bare minimum of 12 movies per month from Netflix and that is just what I get thru Snail Mail. Either these "subscribers" don't watch very many movies or these numbers are exaggerated.
If we go from Microsoft's past experience of bending the truth, then I have to say they are lying thru their wooden teeth.
jhawk95
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Oct 2006
re: Not buying it!
02/05, 03:03pm reply
You watch a lot of movies compared to me. For a different perspective, I barely go through 5 snail mail movies in a month. That's 1, maybe 2 on the weekends. So to me, their numbers are entirely plausible.
Also don't forget the content available on their instant streaming. I'd bet most of the watched content will be TV episodes rather than movies because they simply don't have the latest blockbusters online. A lot of the stuff online is either back catalog or foreign/indie stuff.
cmoney
Dedicated MacNNer
Joined: Sep 2000
re: Not buying it!
02/05, 03:41pm reply
I agree with cmoney. I can get thru about 4-5 a month so the figures seem right on.
And using the instant on my computer, I watch episodes of the Office and stuff like that. Never really watch full movies on there
Also assume that maybe 10-50% of the people who activated the accounts tried it once and didn't use it again. so then you have up to half of that watching the 25,000 hours of movies/TV shows.. (sorry, but minutes is blatantly trying to make the number sound huge)
eldarkus
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Feb 2004