Netflix to get UK and Ireland launch, Google in multimedia push

Internet film subscription service Netflix has announced that it will launch in the UK and Ireland in early 2012. The service offers unlimited TV shows and films that can be streamed instantly to PCs, consoles, TVs and a range of mobile devices, for a monthly subscription.

The firm said that it will announce further details about the service, including pricing, content and supported devices, closer to launch.

Netflix has a customer base of 25 million members, and has been streaming to US customers since 2007. It has since expanded to Canada in 2010 and 43 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean in September 2011.

Interested consumers can sign up to receive an email alert letting them know when Netflix has launched in their country by visiting www.netflix.com.

Meanwhile, Google has also launched a new film rental service for its Android mobile operating system. UK users are now able to rent films on their Android smartphones and tablets via the Android Market. There are already 1,000 titles on offer and prices start at £2.49.

Users will need to install the Video app to watch films, and once a film is begun, it is available for 48 hours.

The firm is also building a music-download store that will be closely integrated to its new Google Plus social networking platform. Reports claim that the service could launch within the next two weeks.

Users in the US have been able to test Google’s online library, which is running under the name Music Beta.

It allows users to stream music online, from PCs or mobile devices, and recommend tracks in an online library to their friends on Google Plus. Friends would then be allowed to listen to those tracks, one time only, for free. To listen to those songs again, they would have to pay a download fee.