Netflix Canada introduces user-controlled data rates and Paramount Pictures
It’s been a busy week for Netflix, especially when it comes to the Canadian market. When they launched in Canada last fall with its streaming only service, some people were skeptical, as the inital library of titles was a little bit thin, especially without the support of physical media rentals. Since then, the company has continued to add both TV and film titles at a fairly brisk pace. Another concern for many was the restictive caps most Canadian internet users face from their providers.
Since then a lot has changed. Originally the plan was to post a quick note about the Netflix/Paramount deal, but while starting that, an email from Netflix came through the inbox. To help assauge consumer fears of data overages on consumers’ internet bills, Netflix has now adjusted their compression algorithms so that streaming will consumer 2/3 less data, starting immediatly…
Starting today, watching movies & TV shows in Canada will use 2/3 less data on average with minimal impact to video quality. For example, watching 30 hours of Netflix movies & TV shows will only use 9 GB of data, well below most Canadian ISP data caps. Previously, 30 hours from Netflix typically used 31 GB.
Why the change? We know that many of our Canadian members have monthly Internet data caps. This new default account setting will significantly reduce the amount of data Netflix delivers to you each month.
You now also have the ability to manage how much data Netflix delivers to you. Visit Your Account to adjust your settings anytime you want. [from Netflix email]
While some ISPs aren’t so restrictive with the bits they dole out to customers, this is good news for people concerned about how much data online streaming can consume. By going into your account settings, you can choose between three different tiers of streaming quality, with the lowest being approximately 300MB an hour, and the highest quality reaching up to over 2 GB for HD content.
Netflix happened to be on, and I was wondering why the image quality was less impressive than usual. That answered the question. There’s definitely a hit in image quality between the lowest and highest settings, though the intermediate setting works quite well. If you’re stuck in the middle of the data cap vs. image quality debate, there are other ISPs out there… just saying.
As for Paramount, Netflix has announced that they’ve signed an exclusive subscription pay TV deal for Paramount Pictures content in Canada. Already, a number of titles from Iron Man 2 and Exit Through The Gift Shop to The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button and Eddie Murphy Raw have started to appear. The 5 year deal will see over 350 titles added to the library. Combined with the recent announcement that Netflix will be producing their first original series, House of Cards starring Kevin Spacey and produced by David Fincher, and Netflix is certainly positioning itself as a disruptive force, not just in rentals, but for cable and satellite providers.
No word yet if the big ISPs plan on further shrinking our data caps in response…
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., March 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Netflix, Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX) today announced a new multi-year licensing agreement with Paramount Pictures, a division of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), adding hundreds of new movie titles, including the exclusive subscription television rights to all first-run films, for Canadian Netflix members to watch instantly on their computers and TVs.
Netflix members in Canada can enjoy theatrical hits from Paramount in the coming months starting with “The Last Airbender” and Marvel’s “Iron Man 2.” The five year agreement will add over 350 new movies available to watch instantly from Netflix in Canada, including epics like “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “Titanic,” and “Defiance,” great comedies like “Zoolander” and “Wayne’s World,” and beloved classics like “The African Queen,” “Sabrina” (1954) and “Terms of Endearment.”
“We are committed to constantly expanding our selection of top new movies and TV shows for our Canadian members,” said Ted Sarandos, Netflix chief content officer. “This agreement will allow them to watch some of the latest hit Paramount films as well as an incredible range of the studio’s recent and classic favorites anytime they want. Netflix and Paramount enjoy a great relationship and are proud to bring such a terrific array of films to Netflix members in Canada.”
Speaking on behalf of Paramount Pictures, Hal Richardson, President of Paramount Television & Digital Distribution, stated “We are extremely pleased to have concluded this deal with Netflix for the premium pay television window in Canada; offering some of Paramount’s best films to their rapidly growing Canadian subscriber base, beginning with Iron Man 2 on March 25. We are especially delighted that this arrangement serves to broaden the growing relationship with our friends at Netflix.”
