Netflix just released its earnings report for the first quarter. Accompanying that as usual, was a letter to shareholders addressing various parts of the business. Within that was a section talking about Netflix’s integrations on MVPD set-top boxes.
The company said in the letter that it will launch its first such integrations in the U.S. this quarter, though it did not name specifics. Here’s the relevant portion of the letter:
We remain very happy with the customer embrace of our MVPD set-top box integrations in Europe. This quarter we will launch the first MVPD integrations in the U.S. As we did in Europe, we will start with U.S. MVPDs that use the TiVo set-top box and try to extend to non-TiVo devices after that. From an MVPD point-of-view, they would rather have consumers use Netflix through the MVPD box and remote control than have consumers become accustomed to watching video from a smart TV or Internet TV device remote control.
We continue to see more capable Internet television devices launched. Chromecast, Roku Streaming Stick, and Amazon Fire TV (on which we expect to support voice search later this year) push the quality of experience and price points for adapter products. Smart TVs from manufacturers like Sony, Samsung, LG and Vizio are starting to evolve from Internet TV as a “bolt-on” to Internet TV as a critical and integrated part of the overall device interface. Roku TV will likely be available in the Fall as one of the first Internet-centric TVs. We expect this trend to continually decrease the friction required for our members to access Netflix and enjoy great content.
Last week, reports came out that Netflix has been in talks with Vodafone to get its streaming content to their customers.
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