Type to search

Telecommunications/Technology

Netflix on-demand video streaming available in P.R.

Nearly five years after launching its on-demand video streaming service in the U.S. mainland and Canada, Netflix Inc. has finally included Puerto Rico in its footprint, opening the door for thousands of island residents wanting to subscribe to the service directly or via their video game devices.

While the company has not made a formal announcement yet, local disc-only mail subscribers began receiving emails Thursday from Netflix, saying their accounts are now “streaming-enabled,” ending years of frustration by technologically savvy subscribers who were left out of the wildly popular streaming service.

“Good news! Now you can instantly watch movies and TV episodes from Netflix. Watch as much as you want, as often as you want,” said the message sent to one subscriber who posted it on a technology blog.

On-demand streaming enables subscribers to gain instant access to unlimited movies and television episodes streamed over the Internet to more than 200 devices, including computers, TVs, Microsoft’s Xbox 360, Nintendo’s Wii and Sony’s PS3 consoles; an array of Blu-ray disc players, digital video recorders and Internet video players; Apple’s iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, as well as Apple TV and Google TV.

California-based Netflix has more than 23 million subscribers throughout the U.S. mainland and Canada, and has been partly responsible for changing the way video rentals are sold.

Author Details
Author Details
Business reporter with 30 years of experience writing for weekly and daily newspapers, as well as trade publications in Puerto Rico. My list of former employers includes Caribbean Business, The San Juan Star, and the Puerto Rico Daily Sun, among others. My areas of expertise include telecommunications, technology, retail, agriculture, tourism, banking and most other segments of Puerto Rico’s economy.
Tags:

3 Comments

  1. Edgar Rodriguez July 1, 2011

    Hello, nice post. But I must make a correction, the Streaming Service hasn’t been available for 12 years at all, i’m sure what you mean is the Rental Service, which worked in Puerto Rico just fine, what didn’t work was the Streaming Service.

    Reply
    1. mkantrow July 1, 2011

      You’re completely right. They were founded in 1999 (12 years ago). Streaming began in 2007, so I’ve made the correction. Thanks!

      Reply
  2. CH July 12, 2011

    Now I understand why Netflix started streaming for Puerto Rico. All these years….they were basically taking extra money from PR without giving the streaming to us….hence pocketing a cool profit…but now that they will seperate the plans….& basially its abt $16 or $8 each for DVD out plus streaming…they know people will have easily gone from $10 to $8..so in order to get that extra $8….boom…streaming available to PR.

    Corporate greeds have no end…….but if consumer acts same…it is mostly termed as illegal.

    Reply

Leave a Comment mkantrow Cancel Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *