Google may be gunning for some of the dominant digital content market share presently claimed by Netflix.
According to some industry analysts, Google’s forthcoming Android Market revamp will be littered with an array of new mobile media services, not the least of which will be digital on-demand movie rentals.
Google says its new and improved Android Market will deliver movies starting at just $2.
Well timed is Google’s powerplay into the streaming content space. Just yesterday, Netflix announced a price hike that is already garnering substantial criticism from longtime subscribers.
As MMW covered yesterday, Netflix is now separating its DVD rental and streaming offerings into two distinct services. To enjoy both, prepare to cough up $16 per month. Presently, Netflix allows customers to enjoy each service for a single $9.99 monthly charge.
So will Netflix prove vulnerable to the encroachments by Google? For now, Google seems to have timing and pricing advantages that all but certainly will contribute favorably to the Internet search giant’s latest venture.
Google says the new services will become available “in the coming weeks” on Android phones running on the Android 2.2 operating system.
