Whether you are a Netflix customer who prefers the disc through the mail approach, the streaming content service through your computer or other devices, or a combination of both, in my opinion the one thing that customers can probably agree on is that browsing for movies on the Netflix site leaves something to be desired. I’m sure that the powers that be over at ‘Little Red’ are aware of this, at least I hope that they are. You would think that they would have done something about it already, but not really. Personally I resorted a long time ago to using other sites to browse for movies, then when I have a title I want I search Netflix by name. This is just a guess on my part, but with the jump in subscriptions that Netflix has seen due to the expansion of their streaming functionality it looks as if they have decided to rely on other sites to help customers as well. The following from Michael Hart, Director of Engineering at Netflix on the Netflix blog:

“How many times have you read about a great movie on a web site and then forgotten to add it to your queue? Netflix has partnered with some of the web’s top movie sites so you can add movies to your queue or start watching them instantly with just one click. We’re very excited about our first two partners, The New York Times and Rotten Tomatoes, and we’ll be continuing on our quest to help you get the most out of your Netflix subscription wherever you find great movies.”

The screen caps below are from the two sites mentioned above. Like Hart says this is a very good start when it comes to increasing access and speed of access to the titles consumers want. The Times site lets you tap into both your queue and Netflix’s ‘watch instantly’ functionality, while Rotten Tomatoes lets you add to your queue. These partnerships are a great move that gives even easier access to content than before. I only hope that we’ll see more of it in the months to come.

Tags: Entertainment, film, movie rentals, netflix, streaming movies