Netflix Streams Movies Direct to TV

Both Battleground and Lilyhammer get mixed reviews, as streaming services branch out

(NEWSER) - Online streaming sites Hulu and Netflix both launched original series this week, as both services take baby steps toward competing with regular television, reports Gigaom . A look at each:

• Hulu's Battleground is the more conventional of the two, a 13-episode comedy about a Senate campaign in Wisconsin that started today, with a new 22-minute episode airing each Tuesday. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has solid praise for Battleground, saying it is "a smart, well-written comedy series you might find on a premium cable network." The AP is less kind, however, calling it "a light, watered-down knockoff of The Office," while the New York Daily News comes down somewhere in-between.

It's another dose of bad news for the red-envelope company

(NEWSER) - More grief for Netflix, already stung by a customer backlash over its decision to split its mail and streaming services and jack prices . Starz said today it won't renew its contract in February to supply newly released movies and TV shows, reports the LA Times . It's a big deal because the pay-cable network controls the rights to Disney and Sony movies, and those offerings went a long way toward helping Netflix surge in popularity in recent years. More»

Will the 'Netflixodus' happen? We'll see...

(NEWSER) - It's the day millions have been dreading, the day that many swore would be the end of red envelope-packed mailboxes, the day in which hordes of Americans might be forced to read a book instead of streaming Season Two of Party Down: Netflix jacks up its prices tomorrow. The Huffington Post reminds current subscribers of what the Sept. 1 changes entail: Instead of enjoying the $9.99 DVD rental/streaming plan, subscribers much pick one or the other for $7.99, or stick with both at the new price of $15.98 a month, which is what you'll be charged starting tomorrow if you don't switch your plan. Surveys have indicated that as many as 2.5 million subscribers would cancel altogether. More»

Convenience could kill off quality: Sam Adams

(NEWSER) - Netflix probably only had its bottom line in mind when it announced the separation of its streaming and DVD services, but does it signal something more sinister? "It increasingly seems like we’re moving toward a world in which the success of a given work of art is determined primarily by its ease of access," writes the AV Club 's Sam Adams. "As we come to expect and even rely on near-instantaneous access, we risk unconsciously downgrading anything that isn’t so ready at hand." More»

Amazon Prime customers can now access 7K shows, 2K movies

(NEWSER) - Netflix and Hulu beware: Amazon has struck a new blow in the battle for streaming content. A deal with NBCUniversal has added some 1,000 movies and TV shows to the web giant’s streaming library. Alongside a deal with CBS, Amazon now provides its Prime customers—who pay $79 a year for free shipping and other perks—with 7,000 TV shows and 2,000 movies, Mashable reports. Meanwhile, Netflix faces a setback as customers quit over its new pricing plan . More»