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Reports that have touted the eminent demise of Netflix may be a bit premature, especially now that the company has announced plans to offer downloadable movies for no additional fee as part of its standard membership package.

This is truly a visionary concept. It takes someone of true brilliance and perhaps even a tinge of genius to anticipate the future needs of the consumer, and then take steps to actually turn the concept into a workable business model. I just wonder what kind of erudite mind would be able to grasp the concept of offering downloadable movie content as an alternative means of distribution?

Oh, wait. That would be me.

Just yesterday I suggested that motion picture studios stop trying to fight the inevitable tidal wave of making movies available in digital form, sans the hardware. While we haven't arrived at this content utopia just yet, services like Netflix stepping up and taking initiative by at least offering streaming content is a step in the right direction.

Of course, Netflix won't be without competition in this venture. Apple, Amazon, and others all are looking to jump into the fray by offering streaming movie content, most likely as part of a subscription based model.

Netflix, however, has a leg up on its competitors in boasting an existing customer base that is already accustomed to having their movie rental needs taken care of by the service. Apple's brand is inexorably linked to the iPod while Amazon is commonly associated with bargain online shopping, so making a splash in the movie rental business may not come as easily.

Hopefully, moves such as this will continue to send a clear message to the movie studios that people want their movies in a variety of formats and delivery methods, and that downloadable/streaming content should be embraced as a monetizable distribution method instead of scorned as a bastion of piracy.

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Joe is a staff writer for WebProNews. Visit WebProNews for the latest ebusiness news.