Source I know that this has been offered in limited use from ABC, maybe CBS before, on their websites, but I don't know the quality of those and I'm sure you have to go through a lot of crap (signing up) before you can view anything. But since I'm a Netflix subscriber, I think this is great! I've been behind on Heroes (stopped watching it halfway through Season 1), so I'm catching up on DVD now, but I can't watch the new season having missed everything that has aired...until now! This is a really good perk for me through Netflix. I hope all the studios recognize the benefit of doing this.
There is no sign up on abc or cbs. You just get on their website, choose your show, and watch. It's free and easy. NBC wants us to pay for something they air for free and that other stations are giving away for free? No thanks. The only way I'm paying for something is if I get to keep it on DVD. I do rent some series through blockbuster online but I think having a dvd and seeing something on my TV is worth the wait on the disc to show up.
It's value-added for Netflix subscribers. It's not costing us an extra dime. You can already watch tons of movies online w/o having to wait for the DVD. Offering TV episodes is the next logical step. As for Blockbuster, BB Online has raised their prices (as I knew they would) and offers less for the money, so why would I want that service?
The free instore rentals make the slightly hire price at blockbuster a far superior deal to what netflix offers, which is wait time between movies.
