A Fool Looks Back

By Rick Aristotle Munarriz | More Articles
October 31, 2009 | Comments (2)

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Cheer up, Sony (NYSE: SNE ) fans. Online streaming through Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX ) is now coming to the PS3.

This is a pretty big deal. Unlike other digital offerings, which charge by the flick, Netflix provides all-you-can-watch Web-based streaming at no additional cost, provided you're a subscriber to one of its unlimited plans, which start at just $8.99 a month.

Does Netflix offer the hottest releases digitally? No. Just an eighth of the Netflix library is available digitally, but we're still talking about more than 10,000 titles. When the service was originally launched, it came with little fanfare. Who wants to watch full-length features on their computer monitors? However, as Netflix has partnered with Web-tethered DVRs, Blu-ray players, and video-game console makers, the service has made its way into the more practical living room setting.

It's about time for Netflix to warm up to Sony. It launched streaming through Microsoft's (Nasdaq: MSFT ) Xbox Live a year ago. Even though the Netflix and Microsoft boardrooms are chummy, logic has finally prevailed. Netflix wants to stream through as many devices as possible. The Sony PS3 -- a popular choice for eye-candy junkies with its Blu-ray playback -- is a perfect fit.

Briefly in the news
And now let's look at some of the other stories that shaped our week.

Under Armour (NYSE: UA ) posted better-than-expected quarterly results and raised its full-year guidance along the way. The company behind its sweat-shaking athletic wear is expanding successfully in footwear. Using apparel as a springboard to athletic footwear? Remember when Nike (NYSE: NKE ) did it the other way around?
Tech heavies aren't just buying. They're selling, too. IBM (NYSE: IBM ) sold its product lifecycle management software subsidiary for roughly $600 million in cold hard cash.

Until next week, I remain,

Rick Munarriz

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Netflix is a Motley Fool Stock Advisor selection. Microsoft is a Motley Fool Inside Value selection. The Fool owns shares of Under Armour, which is a Motley Fool Hidden Gems recommendation and a Motley Fool Rule Breakers recommendation. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days.

Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz recommends windshield wiper fluid when trying to look back. He owns shares of Netflix and is also part of the Rule Breakers newsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early. The Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Comments from our Foolish Readers

Help us keep this a respectfully Foolish area! This is a place for our readers to discuss, debate, and learn more about the Foolish investing topic you read about above. Help us keep it clean and safe. If you believe a comment is abusive or otherwise violates our Fool's Rules, please report it via the Report this Comment icon found on every comment.

Report this Comment On November 01, 2009, at 7:44 PM, vaporland wrote:

My wife loves the Netflix online movie viewing. More and more people these days watch TV and movies on their computers than their TVs.
Eventually, Netflix will be all "net" and no snail mail...
Report this Comment On November 02, 2009, at 4:06 PM, Fool wrote:

No matter what UA reports, they take a beating. Revenue and profits up, beating "analysts" expectations and bam, biff, pow....they get hammered. Remeber last year when inventories were deemed excessively high? That proved largely managable, with gross margins beating estimates....yet still the stock suffers.
Now it is something in the last reporting period that there appears to be weakness in the coming Q4. When that proves wrong....yet again....the stock with none the less get hammered again. What's it gonna take to see $60 per?

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