In a race with long-time movie rental supergiant Blockbuster, Netflix has announced it will begin to offer streamed movies directly available over the web within the next six months. As in traditional rentals, consumers will not own the media they download, nor will they be able to save or burn the streamed movies to DVD. Subscriptions will be based on monthly viewing allotments, as customers pay for a certain number of hours of viewing time. Customers may also watch portions of a movie.

Netflix is known for making recommendations of movies which viewers might enjoy, a service the company says will continue with the digital downloading service.

Due to concerns over pay-per-view royalties, initial titles will be limited to movies already past their PPV window, and the first titles available will be only a fraction of those Netflix has available in DVD format. Several studios have already agreed to deliver content, including New Line, Warners, MGM, and Lionsgate. NBC Universal and BBC Worldwide are also jumping onto the bandwagon early, no doubt related to the gains both studios have made from having their content online. When the program is up and running, subscribers should be able to access content on demand rather than waiting in queue for discs to become available, though whether consumers embrace or ignore the new delivery system remains to be seen.