Netflix Launches in the U.K. & Ireland

LOS GATOS: Netflix has made its official debut in the U.K. and Ireland, available for a monthly fee of £5.99 following a one month free trial.

Neil Hunt, the chief product officer at Netflix, announced the launch yesterday. "I’m proud to have led the product team that brings Netflix to the country where I grew up, after spending most of my career in California," he said.

A one month free trial is being offered to allow instant streaming over the Internet to smart TVs, game consoles, computers, tablets and mobile devices. After the free trial, the service will cost £5.99 (or €6.99 in Ireland). Netflix has deals with ITV, Channel 4 and CNET owner CBS for TV as well as classics from the BBC. Movies produced by Disney, Lionsgate, MGM, Miramax, Momentum, Paramount, Sony and Twentieth Century Fox are available. For younger children, kids’ shows and films are available on the Nintendo Wii, soon to be on many other devices. Offerings include SpongeBob SquarePants, Dora the Explorer, Power Rangers, iCarly and Thomas the Tank Engine. A partnership with Facebook will encourage take-up of the free trial. The social networking site will also be used to offer recommendations, based on content that has been consumed by friends.

“We have spent the last four years building and refining streaming players for the major game consoles, smart TVs, Blu-ray players, tablets, and mobile phones, as well as Mac and PC-based computers," Hunt said. "The current versions have some cool streaming technology that starts streaming the video instantly and quickly scales up to high definition with surround sound when your broadband connection supports it. If you don’t have a game console or smart TV, there are nifty smart TV adaptor products on the market that convert a regular television to an Internet-connected television starting at around £50.”