Netflix CEO: iPad, iPhone Streaming Not a Priority
While unveiling the iPad this past Wednesday, Apple CEO Steve Jobs touted it as “the best device” for watching mobile video. And that may well prove to be the case–but not for mobile video from Netflix, because at this point, the DVD-by-mail pioneer has no plans to bring its subscription-based streaming service to the iPad, or to the iPhone, for that matter.
Interesting, considering that the percentage of Netflix (NFLX) subscribers who streamed more than 15 minutes of video in Q4 2009 was 48 percent, compared with 28 percent for the same period in 2008.
Asked about the possibility of making Netflix’s “Watch Instantly” content available on Apple’s (AAPL) mobile devices during the company’s earnings call Wednesday, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings seemed surprisingly indifferent to the idea.
“We haven’t yet done or submitted an iPhone application,” Hastings said. “We are optimistic that post the Google Voice brouhaha it would be approved. There is really no way of knowing in advance what Apple’s stance would be on that. Of course, that application if it works on the iPhone it would work on the iPad.”
Hastings added, “It is not a huge priority for us because we are so focused on the larger screen. Until we get our TV ubiquity and our Blu-ray ubiquity and we are getting close on video game ubiquity we would next turn to the small screen. It is just not a primary movie watching [device]. It is something we will get around to but it is not in the near-term.”
Here are video highlights of Hastings’s conversation with MediaMemo’s Peter Kafka at our interview event in Las Vegas earlier this month: