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"  Netflix, for so long a rival to the cable companies, might soon become a cable channel. The Wall Street Journal reports that the company is in talks to get into the set-top cable box that most American still use to consume TV, making it easier than ever to stream Netflix movies and shows. What does it mean? Netflix Made Itself a Necessity The New York Times reminds us that cable companies once had hopes of defeating Netflix by building their own, better versions of the basic service. But the bold pronouncements, such as Comcast&amp;#039;s announcement of Steampix, led to basically nothing. Meanwhile, Netflix built up its enormous subscriber base, including lots of users\u2014especially young ones\u2014who view nearly all their TV through Netflix and other other streaming services. Slate even warned that Netflix was redefining the canon of great TV. If a show isn&amp;#039;t on Netflix, it might as well not exist for the cord-cutting demographic. The company also sank money into building new content, including the heralded House of Cards and Orange is the New Black. This decision was not universally lauded at the time. But by scoring a few hits, Netflix made itself a destination. Sports behemoths like ESPN are in a strong negotiating position with cable providers because they own must-have properties such as NFL football. By becoming the only place to get House of Cards, Netflix strengthened its position. But the Cable Bundle Still Matters, Too It&amp;#039;s easy to get ahead of oneself in writing about the cord-cutting revolution. By far, most Americans still get their TV through a cable or satellite box, and by paying a hefty monthly subscription for a bundle of channels. As much as tech-savvy viewers yearn for a la carte TV buying options, they&amp;#039;re a long way away. &amp;quot;Netflix, for its part, has wanted to be on set-top boxes for almost as long as it has had a streaming video service,&amp;quot; the Times says, and it&amp;#039;s no secret why. As well as the company does with cord-cutters, getting into the cable box represents the chance to reach millions more viewers. Ease of Use Is Everything Once upon a time, back in the analog age, Netflix delivered DVDs to your home. That was it, and it was glorious\u2014at least compared to the era&amp;#039;s alternative of driving to a Blockbuster and overpaying for every rental. But once Netflix embraced streaming content, it was on a slow, inexorable journey to your cable box. First you could stream movies to your computer, but it was a hassle move the media from that small screen to a big TV. Then Netflix became an app available through all sorts of boxes that physically connect to your set: Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, Apple TV, Roku, Google Chromecast, and plenty more. If you&amp;#039;ve been using Netflix through one of these boxes all along, this week&amp;#039;s announcement might earn little more than a shrug. But if Netflix works through cable boxes, then there&amp;#039;s no need to fiddle about with extra menus or changing the input settings on your TV. Every baby step of making a service easier to use matters, especially for non-techie users who hate dealing with extra steps. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.popularmechanics.com/culture/tv/a9599/what-netflixs-move-to-the-cable-box-means-16043522/>