Netflix has stepped up their European campaign by negotiating deals to have a dedicated launch button included on the remote controls of televisions from some of the major brands, including Sony, Panasonic, Philips, Toshiba and Vestel.
OK, strictly speaking this isn’t exactly a new thing, as we’ve seen such from a variety of manufacturers over the last couple of years but, this time, it would seem the inclusion will be more ubiquitous. Previously we’ve seen support from Panasonic and Finlux – off the top of our heads – but not across all models and devices.
Clearly this gives Netflix a big advantage over the competition and we can imagine the likes of Amazon and Sky looking on in envy. The ability to launch Netflix, much as you would a ‘normal’ channel – and arguably easier, at that – is one barrier to accessibility fewer.
“The new Netflix button on remotes in Europe makes watching Netflix as easy as changing the channel on traditional TV, allowing viewers to enjoy our great programming much quicker,” said Bill Holmes, head of business development for Netflix.
This is all just part of Netflix’s strategy to foster favourable relations with influential hardware partners and they’ve been working with CE manufacturers for years to improve internet TV quality, as well as rounding the Smart TV experience, as a whole. We saw how they worked with LG on webOS and Samsung with Tizen and, of course, they are at the very vanguard of 4K and HDR delivery.
Some might say it smacks of a monopoly but, then again, we don’t suppose they’ve got this for nothing so, if they’re willing to lay their money down, good luck to them!
Clearly this gives Netflix a big advantage over the competition and we can imagine the likes of Amazon and Sky looking on in envy. The ability to launch Netflix, much as you would a ‘normal’ channel – and arguably easier, at that – is one barrier to accessibility fewer.
“The new Netflix button on remotes in Europe makes watching Netflix as easy as changing the channel on traditional TV, allowing viewers to enjoy our great programming much quicker,” said Bill Holmes, head of business development for Netflix.
This is all just part of Netflix’s strategy to foster favourable relations with influential hardware partners and they’ve been working with CE manufacturers for years to improve internet TV quality, as well as rounding the Smart TV experience, as a whole. We saw how they worked with LG on webOS and Samsung with Tizen and, of course, they are at the very vanguard of 4K and HDR delivery.
Some might say it smacks of a monopoly but, then again, we don’t suppose they’ve got this for nothing so, if they’re willing to lay their money down, good luck to them!
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