Netflix Streaming To Canada This Fall; Other Countries To Come?

This announcement is bigger than it seems. On the surface, just about 33 million people would care that Netflix is coming to Canada. But think of the larger implications. As of right now, Netflix streaming is only available to consumers within the United States, but starting in the Fall, that same service will be available in Canada. And given that this marks the first entry for Netflix into another country, the rest of the world can't be far behind, right?


That is definitely the hope of those in Europe, Asia and beyond, who have to live with just hearing about Netflix from their friends in the U.S. When Netflix streaming hits Canada, it will offer users unlimited movies and TV episodes streamed instantly to TVs and computers for one monthly fee, but as you may have guessed, Canadians will only be treated to the "streaming" aspect of Netflix. The by-mail service is still U.S. only.

But this brings up another question. Does Netflix plan on creating more "stream-only" nations? It seems a lot easier to do this than to bother with entirely new mail systems and PAL/NTSC conflicts. The world can certainly hope, and those in Canada who want to be kept up to date with the launch can sign up to be notified.

Netflix To Launch Canadian Service for Streaming Movies and TV Episodes Later This Year
 
Expansion Beyond U.S. Marks First International Venture for Internet's Leading Movie Subscription Service

LOS GATOS, Calif., July 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Netflix, Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX), the leading Internet movie subscription service, today announced it will expand into Canada this fall offering unlimited movies and TV episodes streamed instantly to TVs and computers for one low monthly fee.  The Canadian launch will mark the first availability of Netflix outside the United States.

Canadian Netflix members will be able to instantly watch a broad array of movies and TV episodes right on their TVs via a range of consumer electronics devices capable of streaming from Netflix, as well as watching on PCs and Macs.

In addition to representing its inaugural international market, Canada will also mark the first streaming-only service promoted by Netflix.  

At the time of launch, the Netflix Canadian service will be available in English only, but the company said it expects to add French language capability over time.

Canadians interested in Netflix can go to www.netflix.ca and sign up to receive an email from the company when the service launches in Canada this fall.