Entertainment & Software & Video Rental Steven Kippel on 12 Oct 2008
Netflix Watch Now limited to Xbox Live Gold subscribers
Netflix Watch Now limited to Xbox Live Gold subscribers
While I can’t think of any reason to not have a Gold account on Xbox Live, you will need one if you plan on watching Netflix movies through the new Xbox service.To access online Xbox content, every user is required to have an Xbox Live account. Silver accounts are free; Gold accounts are approx $50 per year.
Later this year, Microsoft will release the new Dashboard, “The New Xbox Experience,” later this Autumn. Included with this revamped system is the ability to link to your Netflix account to stream Watch Now videos through the Xbox 360. Regular subscription rates for Netflix apply.
Microsoft claims limiting this service to Gold members is “about adding value to the gold membership.” Xbox director of marketing Albert Penello told MTV, “I mean, obviously, the partnership there — it’s a lot of bandwidth. Obviously, there’s the cost of the licensing on the Netflix side, so…you’re not really paying for the movie. On silver, you have to pay for the TV show or movie that you download. Here, you don’t, so the relationship in gold kind of takes care of that funny business.”
If you don’t have a Gold subscription, you should probably get one for the added benefits to begin with, and the Netflix relationship only makes this a greater reason to get one. I just wish Microsoft made Xbox Live a monthly-pay service.
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10 Responses to “Netflix Watch Now limited to Xbox Live Gold subscribers”
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on 23 Nov 2008 at 2:28 am 1.Boboid said …
XBox Live is not useful to me and I don’t want it. I already pay Netflix, and it’s stupid that I have to also pay Microsoft to download movies that I already paid Netflix for. LAME
on 24 Nov 2008 at 7:20 am 2.Wesley Novack said …
I agree. I think it’s lame that Microsoft requires the Gold subscription in order to use Netflix.
on 25 Nov 2008 at 2:05 pm 3.Steven Kippel said …
Because Microsoft wanted to offer Netflix and keep it away from Sony they’re paying for exclusivity. This means they’re passing the cost on to the end user on the Xbox. Most users already pay this cost though.
on 06 Dec 2008 at 2:14 pm 4.Justin said …
I have an Xbox, and it’s mostly for playing DVDs. I play a game here and there, especially when company comes over, but I have absolutely no need for an Xbox Live Gold Membership, until now… with my subscription to Netflix, but I would just feel cheated to have to pay fifty bucks a year for a Gold Membership, which essentially is just a conduit for the web for someone like me. They should look into a cheaper rate for just Netflix customers who have no interest in the online multi-playing side of things, like ten bucks a year, or maybe even twenty, but fifty?
on 20 Jan 2009 at 9:14 pm 5.Oliver said …
I just dont get this…. if I do not pay 2 years of Gold I can buy a Roku and I do not need to pay anymore other than NetFlix.. I though that having an Xbox ( which is not cheap and I bought it when it was pricey ).
Now. How come the streaming have to pass thought the Xbox Live? can’t they make it from Net flix to xbox direclty??? I honestly don’t use live that much.. so this is adding 4 or 5 bucks a month to the netflix subscription fee for no added value.
on 01 Feb 2009 at 6:04 pm 6.Dylan K said …
I love instantly watching Netflix on my Roku player! I only paid a one time cost of $99 to purchase the Netflix Roku player and it works great. Paying the extra $50 fee for xbox to get Netflix sounds like a total rip off.
on 10 Feb 2009 at 9:28 am 7.Xbox owners approve of Netflix streaming » Blu-ray, HDTV, DVD info at WesleyTech.com said …
[...] and Microsoft collaborated last November. Netflix “Watch Now” streaming video is available to all Xbox Live Gold subscribers who also subscribe to Netflix at the $8.99 level (one DVD at a time) and up. Downloading and [...]
on 14 Aug 2009 at 6:05 am 8.Xavier said …
I’ a Xbox 360 user with a Silver account, and for my lack of social gaming, Silver works out to be the right account for me. I’m also a paying Netflix member (3 at a time/unlimited). And I don’t see it as a good thing that I’m excluded from streaming my NetFlix que to my paid for Xbox 360 over my paid for DSL connection. In other words, they can do what they want with the collaboration, but it does not entice me to pay an additional fee to stream something that I could through a web browser, or just wait for in the mail, or worse for Netflix (regarding some of their Long Wait and Very Long Wait titles), just go to a rental store competitor and rent it within a day versus several months.
Evolve the service or find it lacking.
on 03 Sep 2009 at 9:00 am 9.Cucillo said …
I just returned home from a trip abroad to find that the 1 year X-Box live Gold subscription I used only twice to watch movies through Netflix has expired. I had no idea the Netflix feature was tied to the Gold subscription. I would call that double dipping. In my opinion, Microsoft shouldn’t even be charging for the Gold service. As it stands now, Live Gold is a rip off. Honestly, Microsoft wants you to provide your own connection, subscribe to Netflix, and pay to play online with friends. PC and PS3 users can do that without additional costs. For now, I’ll simply connect my Mac to the TV and stream from there. It’s a shame too, this little feature was the only thing running my X-Box 360 these days. I’m not much of a gamer, but I enjoyed the media server capabilities of the X-Box 360. Every one of my Microsoft experiences feels like a rip off; consistently. Greedy!
on 25 Oct 2009 at 2:06 pm 10.Chad said …
Dude, if you just want to stream movies then get a Roku player.