First Big US Cable Providers Bring Netflix To Their Customer Base

The future of television is upon us. With pay-TV transforming, slowly but surely, service providers have little choice but to come to grips with the realities surrounding their business. More and more individuals are growing up on a steady entertainment diet of Netflix and YouTube, and once they grab jobs and own homes, they aren't as likely to pull the trigger on cable as their parents were. Now, a handful of smaller pay-TV companies are planning to bake Netflix into their offerings, and it could trigger a domino effect that'll sweep across the industry.


Atlantic Broadband, Grande Communications and RCN won't match Comcast in terms of subscriber count, but these companies certainly have sizable followings. All three will be delivering instant access to Netflix via TiVo set-top boxes in the months to come. The Netflix App will be built right into the TiVo box, making it seamless to hop from Netflix to cable and back.

"Now, watching Netflix is as easy as changing the channel," said David Isenberg, chief marketing and strategy officer, Atlantic Broadband. "The ever-expanding selection of titles on Netflix is a tremendous complement to Atlantic Broadband's existing portfolio of Live TV, HD channels and On Demand programming. Integrating the world's leading Internet TV network with the world's best DVR platform underscores our commitment to delivering customers what they want – instantly."

Here's the kicker: all three companies will be providing the option as early as next week, and the extra cost? Precisely nothing.