While I'm sure some sales will be driven by this, I don't believe its going to be enough to move the needle. If anything, it'll push Amazon and Google to provide better offerings with their respective devices.
While I'm sure some sales will be driven by this, I don't believe its going to be enough to move the needle. If anything, it'll push Amazon and Google to provide better offerings with their respective devices.
Literally every device in my entertainment system can independently access Netflix: the TV itself, the Apple TV, the Blu-Ray player, and the Xbox. Two of those devices' remotes have dedicated Netflix buttons on their remotes.
So you're right that this is probably not going to drive sales. But that's only because they've saturated the market already, not because they aren't relevant to how a lot of people watch TV.
Most Netflix subscribers (edit from people) just want to watch Netflix on their TV. If you're buying a new TV, the easiest way to do that is to get one that supports Netflix out of the box.
Citation required please.
My grandpa has a Netflix account. If he wants to buy a tv that can play Netflix, It's so much easier for me to tell him "buy a TV with the Netflix logo" than "buy a TV and then buy either chromecast/Apple tv/roku."
I think it's a safe assumption that most Netflix streaming subscribers already have a way to watch Netflix where they want it, whether that's on their TV, on some other device, or both. In some cases, when that's on a TV, its directly through the TV, but in many cases its through a Chromecast, DVD/BD player, AppleTV/Roku, etc., etc., etc.
If they are looking to replace the TV, then, in all cases except where the existing TV is also where the Netflix app is, all they need to do is replace the TV with any TV/monitor that works with their existing mechanism, which probably means "has an HDMI port". Which isn't a really difficult challenge.
The only time the friction is reduced for an existing customer by a TV with an integrated Netflix app is when they are adding a new location, or replacing an existing TV where they were already relying on an on-TV app.
If all you want to watch on your screen is Netflix, why buy a TV (defined by being a monitor with a TV tuner built in) at all?