Los Gatos, Calif., U.S.A. – Netflix has announced the availability of “Just for Kids” on Xbox 360, further expanding the availability of the section popular with kids and their parents.

Netflix “Just for Kids” makes it easier and more fun for kids and families to browse and instantly watch a large selection of kid-friendly TV shows and movies. Since introducing the section in August 2011, Netflix members have watched more than two billion hours of kids’ titles.

Now members who enjoy Netflix on Xbox 360 can select “Just for Kids” to enter an experience designed for children 12 and under. Kids can click and instantly watch their favorite characters, including many they will instantly recognize from their favorite shows and movies.

In addition to the character-based selection, “Just for Kids” displays rows of TV shows and movies organized by easy-to-understand genres such as superheroes, princesses, dinosaurs and girl power, featuring clear and simple descriptions of the plot of each title. Unique Netflix technology provides each member with a personalized “Just for Kids” experience based on taste and favorites.

“As a parent of two, I can feel comfortable letting my kids browse and watch titles in the ‘Just for Kids’ section on our Xbox 360,” said David Watson, director of product innovation at Netflix. As always, there are never any commercials displayed on Netflix and independent ratings and reviews from Common Sense Media were used to make the selections. Common Sense Media is a nonprofit that provides independent, trustworthy ratings, reviews, and information to help parents make great media choices.

“We believe that we can make all the entertainment you love even more amazing with Xbox. Using voice and gesture control with Kinect to explore ‘Just for Kids’ makes Netflix on Xbox 360 more personal and engaging for all audiences,” said Ross Honey, general manager, Xbox LIVE Entertainment & Advertising at Microsoft.

In addition to Xbox 360, Netflix “Just for Kids” is available on PCs and Macs, Nintendo Wii, PlayStation 3, Apple TV and certain Smart TVs, Blu-ray players and streaming media players. Other devices including tablets are scheduled to follow this year.

With more than 27 million streaming members in the United States, Canada, Latin America, the United Kingdom and Ireland, Netflix is the world’s leading internet subscription service for enjoying movies and TV programs.

For about US$7.99 a month, Netflix members can instantly watch movies and TV programs streamed over the internet to PCs, Macs and TVs. Among the large and expanding base of devices streaming from Netflix are the Microsoft Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii and Sony PS3 consoles; an array of Blu-ray disc players, internet-connected TVs, home theatre systems, digital video recorders and internet video players; Apple iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, as well as Apple TV and Google TV.

In all, more than 800 devices that stream from Netflix are available. For additional information, visit www.netflix.com. Follow Netflix on Facebook and Twitter.

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We may be entering the next age of entertainment. Entertainment began as live shows. Then came radio, then motion pictures, then television, and now the Internet. Until recently, the Internet has been a place for micro-entertainment. Short articles, single pictures, short video clips; it was a place for people to escape one minute, or 140 characters at a time. People flock to the Internet because, besides your monthly bill, virtually all of the fun to be had can be free. If numbers indicate anything, it seems that people are staying home from the theaters, and ignoring primetime TV, so that they can be entertained on their own time, and from their own choosing. However, the Internet is not for micro-entertainment anymore.

The biggest challengers to the seemingly undeniable world of television have emerged in the past couple years as Hulu and Netflix. Not too long ago, no one could have imagined anything challenging TV as the primary form of home entertainment. Executives have ignored the Internet too long though, and the battle has begun. Ever since the institution of instant watch, Netflix has grown into a household name. The ability to stream TV shows and movies over the Internet, on your own time, has led many people to fall in love with convenience. Television and movie production were not intimidated though, because all of the content had to come from them first. But they may not be standing on such solid ground anymore; original content is here.

At the beginning of February, Netflix launched their first original show, ‘Lilyhammer’. ‘Lilyhammer’ is a comedy-drama starring Steven Van Zandt of ‘Sopranos’, as a New York gangster trying to start a new life in Lilyhammer, Norway. All eight episodes of ‘Lilyhammer’ were made available from the start, appealing to the new DVR culture, which prefers to watch entire seasons at once. Many have called ‘Lilyhammer’ a great move for Netflix, while others say the show isn’t TV quality. Either way, it is a step in a new direction of programming that skips TV all together.

Netflix is not free however; you have to subscribe to be able to view their new show. Hulu, on the other hand, is completely free and they have also stepped into the ‘original programming’ arena. On February 14, Hulu launched ‘Battleground’, a political drama-comedy in the fake documentary style of ‘The Office’. Hulu took a different approach than Netflix though; they are releasing a new episode every Tuesday, which is more in line with traditional TV. ‘Battleground’ has received mixed reviews as well, but seems to be gathering a bigger fan base than ‘Lilyhammer’. Technically, ‘Battleground’ is not Hulu’s first original series; they have been airing the documentary show ‘A Day in the Life’, which is approaching its second season, but ‘Battleground’ does stand as their first scripted series.

The emergence and apparent success of these original programs can only make people curious of what will happen next. Youtube is beginning to feature channels that will presumably be putting out original content, and most networks stream their shows on their websites after the TV airdate. Will networks start having streaming only shows? Will Netflix and Hulu start producing more shows? With the lightning speed growth of technology, these steps can only make you wonder; what’s next?

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As of November, Netflix’s shares closed at $64.92, a gaping fall from a high of $304.79 in July. The jaw-dropping descent of the popular American DVD-rental and online video streaming service, is attributed to a number of egregious errors committed by the company this year.

With 24.59 million members in the United States and Canada, Netflix is an Internet subscription service for enjoying movies and TV shows online. It also offers a DVD rental service for an additional $2 on top of its basic online streaming plan for $7.99.

According to Tech Crunch, Netflix CEO, Reed Hastings, said in May that, “Streaming is the core of our business and it is growing rapidly. Streaming is much bigger than DVD for us in terms of hours of viewing, growth, and focus. We are seeing massive consumer adoption of streaming.”

To capitalise on its streaming business, Netflix introduced a new pricing system in July which separated the two services, with the streaming plan costing $7.99 and the DVD plan also at $7.99. Selecting both options would cost $16, effectively raising the subscription price by 60% for subscribers.

The announcement, however, was met with an unforeseeable backlash as more than 800, 000 irate subscribers defected in protest of the ludicrous price-hike. In attempt to appease customers, Hastings then announced a scheme to spin-off 2 companies for Netflix’s DVD-by-mail rental and on-line streaming services. However, the announcement was promptly retracted when violent objections arose from all sides.

For a company that began its meteoric rise with effortless access to video entertainment, the move was perceived by many as complicating the rental process.Since then, stock prices have continued to careen.

Last week, the company took steps toward raising $400 million from investors to shore up its balance sheet, selling $200 million of common stock to T. Rowe Price funds, and placing $200 million of convertible debt with the investment fund Technology Crossover Ventures. The purpose of raising capital is to finance Netflix’s expansion plans into the UK and Ireland in the first quarter of 2012.

While financially logical, investors saw the move as underlying the foolishness of the company’s stock repurchases earlier in the year at much higher prices, reports Forbes.

With escalating costs in content investment, Netflix has warned that it expects to lose money in 2012. High-cost ventures into UK and Ireland are also likely to cause the company to incur losses on a global basis in the upcoming year. Barron’s reported on Saturday, November 26th, that it looks as if the company will end up making $4.08 this year and might, at best, make a profit of 75 cents in 2012.

In their letter to shareholders dated October 24, 2011, Hastings and CFO, David Wells, defended their new pricing strategy. “We think that the $7.99 for unlimited streaming and $7.99 for DVD are both very aggressively low prices, relative to competition and to the value of the services, and they are right place for Netflix to be in the long term. What we misjudged was how quickly to move there. We compounded the problem with the lack of explanation about the rising cost of expansion of streaming content, and steady DVD costs, so that absent that explanation, many perceived us as greedy,” Wells said.

In the midst of the immediate bleak outlook, however, there is a silver lining. For one, Hastings is right in that the future of video-watching will be digital.

This has significant financial implications for Netflix. Getting rid of the DVD-by-mail business would allow Netflix to eliminate an array of costs associated with infrastructure and focus instead on investing in content. Moreover, with the amount of money that Netflix has invested in acquiring content, the current valuation makes Netflix an attractive acquisition for competitors such as Amazon and Google.

Netflix remains positive that it will bounce back into a profit-reaping cycle, and is planning to recuperate from domestic losses after launching in the UK and Ireland.

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PRNewswire — Netflix Inc. and Miramax today announced a new multi-year digital licensing agreement that will bring a broad range of acclaimed Miramax films to Netflix members in the UK and Ireland. Beginning in early 2012, Miramax titles will be available for Netflix members to watch instantly in the UK and Ireland streamed over the Internet to connected TVs, tablets, game consoles, computers and mobile phones.

Financial terms of the deal are not being disclosed. Netflix announced in October that it would launch its service in the UK and Ireland early in 2012. ”Netflix is proud to be able to offer the unmatched mix of award-winning, independent and commercially successful films Miramax is known for,” said Ted Sarandos, Netflix Chief Content Officer.

“Miramax films are already favorites of Netflix members in the U.S. and Latin America and we’re sure they’ll be incredibly popular in the UK and Ireland as well.” ”We are thrilled to grow our partnership with Netflix as they expand their platform into the UK and Ireland,” said Mike Lang, CEO of Miramax.

“This agreement further extends our broader international digital distribution strategy, as we continue to offer consumers around the world our extraordinary collection of Miramax films.”

Additional Miramax titles available to members of Netflix in the UK and Ireland will include The Aviator, Bad Santa, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, Chocolat, Finding Neverland, Gangs of New York, The Hours, Kate & Leopold, Rounders, Sling Blade, The Talented Mr. Ripley, and several of the Scary Movie, Scream and Hellraiser films.

An extensive selection of legendary Miramax titles is already available to Netflix consumers in the United States and Latin America. With more than 20 million streaming members in the United States, Canada and Latin America, Netflix, Inc. is the world’s leading Internet subscription service for enjoying movies and TV shows.

Among the large and expanding base of devices streaming from Netflix are the Microsoft Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii and Sony PS3 consoles; an array of Blu-ray disc players, Internet-connected TVs, home theater systems, digital video recorders and Internet video players; Apple iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, as well as Apple TV and Google TV. In all, more than 700 devices that stream from Netflix are available.

Miramax is a leading worldwide film and television studio with a library of more than 700 motion pictures.  Miramax sells directly and licenses its titles globally through strategic partnerships including Netflix, Lionsgate, Studiocanal, Hulu and Facebook.

The company had two new releases this past summer: The Debt, starring Helen Mirren and Sam Worthington, and the Guillermo del Toro-produced Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, starring Katie Holmes and Guy Pearce. Collectively, the Miramax library has received 284 Academy Award nominations and 68 Oscars, including four Best Picture Awards.

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Netflix announced it was planning to split its DVD/Blu-Ray rent by mail and online streaming services back in early September. The mail delivery service was branded as Qwikster and video games would be made available for rent as well. Since then the plan was called off and entry into the video game rental market was put on hold as many customers opposed the split.

Subscribers did not like the idea of having to visit a different website and mange a second account to rent movies or video games. Netflix’s stock price has been steadily dropping since the 60% price hike in July and loss of 800,000 subscribers in the last quarter despite the firm’s profits.

Shareholders were also not happy as Netflix would have to spend millions to launch Qwikster when consumers have already established Netflix as a rent by mail service under the Netflix brand. With Netflix’s missteps that leaves one begging the question, is there a legitimate alternative to Netflix?

Angry Netflix users have been on the lookout for something new and there might just be a replacement depending on their viewing habits. Online streaming services like iTunes and VUDU have no monthly fee but the bill will quickly add up from just a few purchases as each rental will cost around $0.99 to $5.99 depending on what it is.

The content per dollar ratio is probably not what Netflix users are looking for. Amazon Prime Instant video and Hulu Plus are much more viable alternatives as they allow unlimited streaming for a monthly fee.

Amazon Prime has the smallest selection but also has the lowest price at $79 a year, and offered a discounted price for college students that subscribed earlier this year, but Amazon has not stated if it will offer that deal year after year. Amazon Prime also has content for rental much like VUDU and iTunes.

Hulu concentrates more on what is current on television offering a free option that allows users to see five episodes of a show’s current season, movies, and in standard definition. Hulu Plus gives access to full seasons, a better selection of movies, and in high definition for $7.99 a month. Hulu uploads episodes a day after it airs on television giving it an edge over Netflix’s usual 28 day wait.

There really is no widely accepted alternative to Netflix at the moment. For $7.99 a month Netflix offers the biggest online streaming selection in movies and television. Hulu Plus is definitely better than Netflix for television fans but it is the other way around for movie buffs.

As much as people argue which is better to have Hulu Plus or Netflix (even though they have some of the same content available) at the moment they should be considered compliments and not substitutes of each other.

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When Netflix announced a price hike in July, almost 600,000 members cancelled their subscriptions. After the announcement, the company’s stock value plummeted by almost half in just a few days. Starz Entertainment, one of Netflix’s biggest source of new movies, decided not to continue its deal with Netflix.

Moreover, the decision by Reed Hastings, co-founder and CEO of Netflix, to split the company angered even more subscribers. The company announced that it would separate into two companies on September 18, 2011. Netflix will continue online moving streaming, while the new company, Qwikster, will take care of DVD rentals.

The announcement was part of an apology letter from Hastings in response to the price increase for its services. Before, subscribers paid $10 a month for both DVD rental and online movie streaming. Netflix split the services, and subscribers would pay $7.99 a month for DVD rental and the same additional cost for movie streaming.

That would bring the total to $15.98 if subscribers wanted both, a price increase of almost 60 percent.In his letter, Hastings started with three words: “I messed up.” A video featuring Hastings and newly-named Qwikster CEO, Andy Rendich, soon followed. Hastings apologized again, and offered an explanation for the separation of services.

He addressed the strengths of streaming, and said that DVD and streaming would become more and more different in the future. “We think that the DVD service needs its own brand so that we can advertise it,” said Hastings. Rendich, who was the Chief Service and Operations Officer at Netflix, explained that Qwikster would be the same Netflix DVD rental service that is currently in place, just under a different name. Qwikster will also begin a video game rental service.

Even though Netflix has received mostly negative responses from members, there is some support for the decision. Marc Randolph, the other co-founder of Netflix, said the decision was a good one. “Not only am I completely in support of what Netflix is doing, but I think it is one of the smartest, most disciplined and bravest moves I’ve ever seen,” he wrote on his blog.

Things may be looking up for Netflix. On September 25, Netflix and DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. announced that they had signed an agreement. The contract is estimated to be worth almost $30 million per movie, and does not state how many years the deal is effective. However, Netflix will not begin streaming movies until 2013, when it will stream DreamWorks titles released in 2013, as well as certain DreamWorks titles.

The agreement would add to Netflix’s library of movies, which currently stands at 20,000 titles. That is almost twice as much as its biggest competitor, Amazon Prime. Just after Netflix announced its deal with DreamWorks, Amazon and 20th Century Fox closed their own deal, which is estimated to be worth $100 million, and would add 2,000 titles to their library.

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