Content Discogbobulation Continues…

Content will not be contained. Herein is another example of the content escaping from its regularly scheduled delivery slot. From Netflix –

Netflix, Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX), the world’s largest online movie rental service, and NBC Universal Domestic Television Distribution today announced an agreement through which current episodes of the network’s top-rated prime time series, “Heroes,” can be watched online by Netflix subscribers the day after their network airings.

The deal follows NBC Universal’s announcement with G4 and Mojo as the off-network cable homes for “Heroes” and makes Netflix the exclusive SVOD outlet for the series and the third arm of the studio’s syndication deal.

In addition, Netflix also offers prior season episodes of other popular NBC series including “30 Rock,” “Friday Night Lights” and “The Office.” For these shows, Netflix subscribers will have the option of enjoying them on DVD or watching them instantly on their PCs at Netflix.com.

Pretty cool huh? Let me tell you, I think so. If Netflix can get the other 2 network majors to cut a similar deal who the heck needs a Tivo? Tivo’s and VCR’s from the consumers perspective were used as time shifting schemes. With a Netflix account that becomes passe’.

For the content haulers (AT&T, Verizon, Comcast, TimeWarner) this does not necessarily make their job harder in their managed content schema at this time. But what it does do is make it less and less necessary for the end user to stay with their managed line up and Tivo like devices. But this does something else. It takes the major networks programming divisions and turns them into movie production houses. I mean come on, some MBA type at one of the 3 is going to say, “want to really cut costs. Get rid of the on air network infrastructure. Expand the deal with Netflix for distribution. Save a couple of billion a year.” Their affiliates will scream bloody murder or course, but the networks have thought of them as pains to begin with.

But the media ecosystem keeps expanding. As the content becomes more diverse and tunneled the task of developing a managed line up becomes not only harder, but the value of doing it in the eyes of the end user diminishes as the ecosystem expands.

HT: Consumerist.