Netflix in talks with US cable providers -- report
Talks are in early stages with Comcast and other pay-TV providers to offer the online video service as an option on their set-top boxes, according to The Wall Street Journal.
According to a report in Sunday's Wall Street Journal, Netflix is in talks with Comcast, Suddenlink Communications, and other service providers to offer its online video service as an app on their set-top boxes.
However, the talks are in early stages and no deal is imminent, people familiar with the matter told the Journal.
Netflix last month inked a deal with the UK's Virgin Media that will allow it to integrate its streaming service into Virgin's service through TiVo set-top boxes. But a similar deal with US pay-TV providers would be the first of its kind.
If such a deal were to come to fruition, it would not only give consumers yet more devices from which to access the online video service, but it would mean US pay-TV providers are no longer working so hard to keep Netflix at arm's length.
Netflix has been hoping to forge partnerships with US pay-TV providers for some time. Last month, David Wells, Netflix's chief financial officer, told Bloomberg during an investor conference that it's had a standing invitation to US cable operators to add Netflix for two years.