New LG TVs Offer Direct Netflix Content

According to LG, the Netflix-enabled TVs will begin selling this spring and will be available in four models: 42-inch and 47-inch LCDs and 50-inch and 60-inch plasma televisions. The TVs, which are on view this week at CES in Las Vegas, mark the first time Netflix software has been included directly in a television.

The move is the latest in a string of LG/Netflix partnerships that last year saw the Korean electronics behemoth launching Blu-ray DVD players and set-top boxes using the same Netflix software consumers will see in the new instant TVs.

Netflix, which has a similar agreement for Blu-ray players with Samsung, also unveiled other partnerships for its movie software, including one with Microsoft's Xbox 360 console.

Netflix spokesman Steve Swasey told Reuters that "the goal for Netflix is to be ubiquitous" on whatever consumers use to connect Internet to television. He added that Netflix is working on deals with other electronics vendors, though he said the Los Gatos, Calif.-based DVD rental giant has no immediate plans to engage mobile platforms such as the iPhone and the BlackBerry.

"There's a limited market for people who want to watch a 2 1/2-hour movie on a 2-inch screen," Swasey told Reuters.