Digital Home Thoughts: Why A Netflix-TiVo Deal Is Irrelevant

"In the hoopla over a possible linkup between Netflix and TiVo, something appears to have been lost on investors: Even if the two strike some kind of deal allowing Netflix subscribers to access movies by downloading them onto a TiVo for a monthly subscription price or on a pay-per-view basis, it's unlikely the library of titles will be anywhere near the 25,000 Netflix now claims -- at least not any time soon. Ditto Netflix's plans to offer download services, which the company has suggested will happen next year. Blame that on a complex web of film rights and so-called use windows granted by movie studios, which are different for "hard goods," such as retail or DVD-by-mail, and "electronic," which can include the Internet or TV."

This article off of CBS Marketwatch gives a full account of the reality behind the highly anticipated and dream deal between Netflix and TiVo. According to Hank Greenberg over at CBS MarketWatch the big problem is that Netflix doesn’t have the web distribution rights to most of its catalog of films that it rents out and the probably won’t be getting those rights anytime soon because they’ve already been sold to companies like Starz which are working on online movie download services of their own. Read the article to find out more.