Our take...
The latest announcement marks a continuation of Netflix's strategy to deliver its streaming content to the television screen. By forming a series of partnerships with manufacturers the rentailer is seeking to grow a substantial installed base of Netflix-capable devices, with the aim to use the streaming value-add to reduce subscriber churn.

Screen Digest has consistently maintained the view that bundling a digital movie service as a secondary function on a TV-connected device such as a BD player or games console will help to maximise the reach of that service; standalone set-top boxes whose sole capability is to stream online video typically experience low sales volumes. Netflix's Roku box may prove an exception to this rule due to the low price point and the fact that streaming content is 'free' once the device has been purchased.

However, Netflix's streaming option primarily consists of older movie titles and, although growing, the library is limited in comparison to the company's catalogue of more than 100,000 DVDs. With the Netflix service restricted to standard definition video the available digital content is unlikely to cannibalise BD sales and will instead act as a complementary feature.