An interview was recorded at the NewTeeVee Live conference in San Francisco, with Reed Hastings, CEO of Netflix. The focus of the discussion was the company’s attempts to look beyond the DVD and its work with some device companies, such as Roku, Xbox, Samsung, LG, etc. The findings were that the company aims to embed its software into the listed companies systems. The discussion also found:
- Hiring a new devices head to work with the partners
- Timeline horizon on making any of these device partnerships work
- Reaching the TV through normal Web browsers
- DVD rental margins vs. streaming video margins
- Competing with the likes of Hulu, and competing with downloading
- Working with cable companies: “We would love to do it, but it is not something cable companies seem to be very excited about.”
- Bottlenecks with increasing online video inventory
- Outlook for DVD business next year
