Albott and Costello, Joanie and Chachi, Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock, are all names that pop into alot of minds when thinking of great duos (ok maybe not so much Joanie and Chachi). It is being rumored that Netflix and Microsoft are looking to be added to this list of great duos.

While it is still just a rumor, Netflix nor Microsoft have made an official announcement about their collaboration. The project that is stirring in the rumor mill is that Netflix will start providing XBOX Live users with streaming movies along with their service.

There have been so many clues as to the announcement that you can almost already hear, “It’s elementary my dear Watson”. First, Netflix’s CEO, Reed Hastings joined Microsoft’s Board of Directors last March, meaning there has been plenty of time for the partnership to form. Second and probably the more convincing clue was a survey handed out by Netflix to its’ users. The important excerpt from the survey is, ““If, as part of your Netflix membership you could instantly watch movies and TV episodes on your TV with your Xbox 360, how likely would you/anyone in your household be to do that?” .

Microsoft has really been pushing the “home media experience” mainly through its’ XBOX Live service. They have offered movie downloads, and downloads for TV. But nothing so groundbreaking as to catch the eye of many users. With the announcement of a joining of forces with Netflix, it might just make the splash Microsoft needs. They have a perfect opportunity to make this splash at the GDC this week. GDC stands for Game Developer’s Conference, and Microsoft has used it in year’s past to make large announcments.

So Netflix and XBOX Live users, keep an eye out this week for you might see all the clues come together into fruition.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 20th, 2008 at 9:21 am and is filed under Consumer Electronics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.