Sony blocks entire Netflix movie library from streaming to the Xbox 360 [update]

by Dustin Burg on Nov 19th 2008 1:45AM

Update: Sony has released an official response, click here to learn more.

In an attempt to foil Microsoft's plans of a flawless NXE Netflix launch, Columbia Pictures (a studio that's owned by Sony) has made sure that its entire Netflix movie catalog is blocked from streaming to the Xbox 360. How rude!

According to Joystiq (and confirmed by MTV Multiplayer) Netflix has pulled all Columbia Pictures content from the Xbox 360 instant view library due to "licensing problems." But, wouldn't you know, all the blocked content can still be viewed online and through all other Netflix enabled TV devices except for the 360. Netflix hopes to license all the currently blocked content to the Xbox 360 in the near future. Now, that just isn't very nice of you Sony, haven't you been taught to share?

Source

Tags: columbia-pictures, netflix, new-xbox-experience, nxe, sony

Reader Comments (201)

Wow..is this their way of being mad that they don't have teh netflix?

F U C K sony

everyone go here(http://playstation.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/playstation.cfg/php/enduser/ask.php) and send this message to sony:
"Fuck you guys for blocking entire Netflix movie library from streaming to the Xbox 360"

I don't see how this is a "licensing problem". I smell a lawsuit coming up soon....

I just went to their website and complained. Its really crappy of them to do that and they may have just lost a loyal Sony Brand follower. Latest purchase was a Sony Alpha 300 last month. Great little camera. Shame about the horrible customer relations.

is anyone really that surprised? Aren't they trying to launch their own service on the ps3? Still sucks though, I was looking forward to using this as I already have netflix.

Wow. Really freaking mature. If you ever needed another reason to NOT buy a PS3. Here's reason number 5,237: Sony is full of cry babies.

Thinking about it from a business perspective, Sony doesn't have much to lose by putting Columbia content on the PS3. For one thing, who watches On-Demand movies through their PS3? Who buys movies on their PS3? The answer is noone...so why not make money off of the competition while you are desperately struggling to get your online video store off the ground?

Normally I'd have given up by now, but my English blood is only sated with argument. Watching people come up with any seemingly logical explanation for why Sony isn't being a douche in this situation, is beyond entertaining. Someone brought up the idea that Microsoft is a dick for getting the exclusive rights to Netflix, and that it's their fault the PS3 doesn't have Netflix, and that Sony *Had* to pull the license for their movies. Then someone brought up that Sony has exclusive games, but neglected to mention that Microsoft also does. Needless to say, the first wacko brought this up to combat the second wacko, and the gloves came off. It's like celebrity death match. You can feel your brain cells dying as you watch it, but you keep watching it anyway because it's fun, if not borderline retarded most of the time.

hahahahahahaha! I'm glad sony did this! keeps things interesting.

I know most are pissed, but we all know you wouldn't share with your enemies. It's like giving your car you worked on for years to your worst enemy to drive around for a bit! you wouldn't do it, nor would I!

Smart move sony!

Secondly who cares. Boycott sony and sony pictures if ya want, you'll get over it in a month or so.

Some of the responses are pretty naive. Where's the blu-ray player for the 360?

Helping your competition succeed isn't good business.

just so you guys no, its not the PlayStation department that decides about the movies department lol.. its columbia pictures that decided this, not playstation depart, you need to send your complaints to columbia pictures lol.. coz ps department cant do anything with that :P

Think of it from Sony's perspective.

They lost out on the deal with netflix, no wonder their pissed.

What has the Xbox ever done for Sony? They don't support blu rays, why should sony support them?

That's a bitch move Sony...

Sonys prolly pissed cuz Microsoft got an 'exclusive' deal w/ Netflix..

As am I.. :( I only own a PS3 right now..

PS3 owners would like netflix streaming too please..

http://gizmodo.com/5057995/playon-streams-netflix-to-your-ps3

This is why i will never support bluray or the ps3.Its a sick world when you have to sabotage peoples right to watch what they want on what they want over a payed service because you failed at putting effort into your console.

Sony heres some advice stop being arrogant care about your supporters and maybe you could make a dent next gen because your slowly rolling down hill.

My thoughts exactly. The PSN is a gigantic flop when it comes to On-Demand movies and for-purchase movies, so what possible financial incentive would you have to deny yourself a revenue stream through streaming content, no matter what hardware is streaming that content. This is purely out of spite, and everyone knows it.

It would have been nice if Netflix could have been on both consoles (it could be if Sony would update their browser....though I hear adobe is cock blocking flash on the consoles for some ungodly reason) but a loss is a loss. Now they are just taking it out on the consumer.

Law of the game over on Joystiq should do a piece on why Netflix needs a separate license for the PC and the 360. Is the 360 not a PC? Is it not a motherboard, with PC components attached? The legal issues involved blow my mind.

I've been boycotting Sony products since they wouldn't play nice with Toshiba years ago and merge the HD-DVD/Blu-ray developments. Now I just need to unload the last few Sony products I do have.

"Its a sick world when you have to sabotage peoples right"

I didn't realize it was peoples "right" to watch TV, I always thought it was a privileged. I must have missed that part in the us constitution.

And before we all go bonkers on Sony lets not forget we are also dealing with Microsoft here. They are not exactly a model for good business practices. Can anyone say "monopoly", it's about time Microsoft got a taste of its own medicine.

If by "Microsoft" getting a taste of their own medicine, you mean Netflix subscribers who also own 360's that can't watch Columbia content now getting a taste of their own medicine, then you are absolutely right.

Not that any of us deserved that medicine....

Right, because in your world, it's perfectly OK for Microsoft to ink an exclusivity deal which excludes Sony from Netflix streaming, but it's not OK for Sony to pull their catalog from that agreement.

In an eye for an eye scenario, everyone ends up blind. This is as much Microsoft's fault as it is Sony's.

"I didn't realize it was peoples "right" to watch TV"

He said people's right to watch WHAT THEY WANT, not to watch tv (ie. their freedom to choose what to watch). Learn to read.

"near future" = Never.

What ass holes.

This is a bad business decision for Sony. The way I see it they are just missing out on the revenue generated from streamed movies over XBOX Live. I'm assuming that they DO make some money off the downloads, but I'm not 100% sure. And yes, I know that assuming just makes an "ass out of you and me".

An interesting move, if not a bit childish. Then again, with everything else Sony has done recently I guess this shouldn't surprise me.

LMAO!!! Sony is PISSED! Rightfully so, they're getting raped in the ass with no grease more and more every month. Give it up losers!

isn't Sony getting Blockbuster for PS3? well that's what i've been hearing.

How DARE people be allowed to watch titles on a device they choose with a service they pay for!

It's not just Columbia Pictures movies...it's all movies by companies owned by Sony Pictures. That includes Columbia Pictures, Tristar, and Screen Gems (Resident Evil series) among others.

This is Sony's way of getting back at Microsoft for them not making a Bluray addon for the 360 and all the exclusives they lost to the 360.

In all honesty, I highly doubt that this is the result of MS not going with Blu-Ray and for Sony loosing exclusives..

If anything it boils down to Sony not wanting their content to help make a competitors product look more attractive in the eyes of the buying public.

Now that I think about it some more, I also highly doubt that Microsoft paid Netflix for exclusive rights to offer streaming movies on the 360.. Why do I think that?

Netflix has always used Microsoft codecs for Watch Now.. It was always DRM'ed WMV files, but now they are changing over to Silverlight to deliver their streaming movies. (And as a Mac user I thank them for that seeing as how Windows Media Player was never available on OSX)

Keep in mind that the PS3 can't playback WMV files either due to Sony not wanting to license the technology or Microsoft not wanting to provide it to them (although I don't see that being the case as MS would love to have their thumb print on as many devices as possible).

I'm sure sooner or later tons of PS3 fanboys are going to flood this topic screaming and yelling eye for an eye and turnabout is fair play or whatever. So lets all try to keep that in mind.

(Just trying to be helpful I'm sure tomorrow night I'll go back to posting jackass comments here and on PS3Fanboy)

PS3 can play WMV, for almost a year now, came out in the 2.10 firmware update.

To the other guy talking about flash, Sony did just update the flash player for the PS3, you can watch Hulu.com on there now for instance.

Netflix streams have been available on the PS3 for awhile, it's just not an official add on.

On topic, if Sony is blocking their movies from the 360 just to not help MS, can you really blame them?

How many 360 fans cheer every time MS throws a money hat at a developer to keep a title off a Sony console, but now its a dirty underhanded move for Sony to keep their own content off a MS console.

"Eye for an eye, turnabout is fair play" there you go.

You know Microsoft usually doesn't "buy off" developers, with the exception of Rockstar and GTA IV's DLC. However that money was probably to acually help Rockstar develop the downloadable content.

lol
just cos we're better than them:)

why shouldn't Sony do such a move.this is how they need to be playing they have to use the whole company that where strength lies in in their company as a whole and they finally using it attack.Next they need to attack the music video section on xbox since they own 70% of the music industry they need to use it to do major blow to Microsoft and Nintendo.

Sony are sore losers, they deserve every bit of their loses.

Wow I just learned that sony stands for dicks in japanese.

Way to show your class, Sony...another reason why everyone hates you

The big question is:

Why Sony didn't do this earlier?

They waited until the last minute, those fucking losers.

I call for a boycott!

Sony is gonna pay for this.

This move isn't going to drive an PS3 sales, it's just going to mean less people watching their movies... or better yet, watching them on Microsoft's browser on Microsoft's OS.

And am I the only one who thinks that screwing around with Netflix is not a wise business move? They've single-handedly devastated the largest movie rental chain in the country in a matter of a few years.

Totally classless, Sony. From now on, I'll make it a point not buy anything of off psn. How's that taste? There will be backlash for sure.

Why wouldn't they want to make money off another company's console? I imagine they get a share of the cash every time one of these gets watched. Way to shoot yourself in the foot Sony.

Stay classy, Sony.

God, cut them some slack (Sony). This is a business, they're going to keeping fighting for supremecy, it's not like Microsoft hasn't stolen anything from Sony or Apple or Nintendo! Please people, I know it is annoying but don't start with saying stupid comments like "they no they are losing" etc. I am sure many PS3 owners would have been annoyed when MS grabbed DMC4 and FF. Anyway despite what I said, it is abit annoying. Sorry people if I came off as a PS3/Sony FB.

I think Microsoft should stop licensing Windows to Sony. That'd be good.

I think it's funny that people are complaining at Sony about this...it's not like any of you were whining when, y'know, Microsoft signed an exclusivity agreement with Netflix, thus totally locking out Sony from putting the service on their console.

Drop the double standard guys, it's depressing. You can't have it both ways.

F U C K you

I think it's hilarious that sony is giving microsoft a not-so-subtle middle finger. Most of the people posting here sound bitter, but there's no reason to be. As FR3SH JIV3 wrote, sony is kinda shooting itself in the foot by not profiting off the xbox service. This denial of movies isn't going to convince anyone to buy a ps3, so I'm pretty sure this is just a temporary and symbolic flipping of the bird that will be resolved sometime in the future. Unless of course, sony incorporates a streaming video service into the ps3... :P

Is this really that surprising?
Regardless, the simple fact is that no matter how it's put, Sony is being childish, and stupid. This prevents people from viewing there movies, and possible buying them. I have purchased a number of movies after renting/viewing from Netflix. This only limits my viewing, thus forcing less profit from me as a consumer. Bu the time I get the disk to watch a movie, the price drops.
He he he, they hurt themselves again.

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Sony blocks entire Netflix movie library from streaming to the Xbox 360 [update]

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