Netflix Appoints Anthony Wood, who Founded and led ReplayTV, As V.P. of Internet TV
Apr 16, 2007, 01:00 ET from Netflix, Inc.
LOS GATOS, Calif., April 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Netflix, Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX), the world's largest online DVD rental service, today announced the appointment of Anthony Wood to the newly created position of vice president of Internet TV, responsible for all aspects of product development related to the company's strategic intent to deliver movies directly to subscribers' televisions via the Internet. "I believe that Netflix is the company best positioned to lead Internet-delivered video," said Mr. Wood. "The company has taken the first step -- and an innovative one -- in offering online video to its members, and I'm here to work with a range of partners to get that video to the television, where consumers watch most of their movies." Mr. Wood has founded four successful companies, including ReplayTV and most recently Roku. He assumes his new position immediately and will report to the company's chief product officer, Neil Hunt. "Internet-delivered video is an area of clearly rich potential and we intend to be a leader in it," said Dr. Hunt. "The understanding, the expertise and the vision that Anthony possesses in this field are unmatched and we are extremely pleased to have him lead our Internet TV effort." In January, Netflix marked an important enhancement to its service with the introduction of a feature that allows subscribers to immediately watch movies and television series on Internet-connected PCs through real-time playback technology. As part of the introduction, the company said that over time it would focus on expanding its selection of instantly viewable content and work to bring the feature to all Internet-connected screens, from cell phones to PCs to plasma TVs. The appointment of Mr. Wood to lead the television effort underscores the company's commitment to that eventual step. Until his appointment by Netflix, Mr. Wood, 41, was CEO of Roku, a digital media company that manufactures and markets SoundBridge, the market-leading Internet radio, and BrightSign, a leading digital sign controller. He will remain chairman of the board of the Palo Alto, Calif.-based company. Mr. Wood is best known as the creator of the digital video recorder (DVR) and as the founder of ReplayTV, where he served as president and CEO before the company's acquisition by SONICblue in 2001. After the acquisition, he became senior vice president of engineering and was responsible for the ReplayTV and Rio product lines. Earlier, Mr. Wood founded and led iband Inc., an Internet software company acquired by Macromedia and SunRize Industries, a supplier of hardware and software tools for audio recording and editing. He holds a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Texas A&M University. About Netflix Netflix, Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX) is the world's largest online movie rental service, providing more than six million subscribers access to over 75,000 DVD titles. The company offers a variety of subscription plans, starting at $4.99 a month. There are no due dates, no late fees and no shipping fees. DVDs are delivered for free by the USPS from regional shipping centers located throughout the United States. Netflix can reach more than 90 percent of its subscribers with generally one business-day delivery. Netflix offers personalized movie recommendations to its members and has more than one billion movie ratings. Netflix also allows members to share and recommend movies to one another through its Friends(R) feature. For more information, visit http://www.netflix.com.
SOURCE Netflix, Inc.
LOS GATOS, Calif., April 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Netflix, Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX), the world's largest online DVD rental service, today announced the appointment of Anthony Wood to the newly created position of vice president of Internet TV, responsible for all aspects of product development related to the company's strategic intent to deliver movies directly to subscribers' televisions via the Internet. "I believe that Netflix is the company best positioned to lead Internet-delivered video," said Mr. Wood. "The company has taken the first step -- and an innovative one -- in offering online video to its members, and I'm here to work with a range of partners to get that video to the television, where consumers watch most of their movies." Mr. Wood has founded four successful companies, including ReplayTV and most recently Roku. He assumes his new position immediately and will report to the company's chief product officer, Neil Hunt. "Internet-delivered video is an area of clearly rich potential and we intend to be a leader in it," said Dr. Hunt. "The understanding, the expertise and the vision that Anthony possesses in this field are unmatched and we are extremely pleased to have him lead our Internet TV effort." In January, Netflix marked an important enhancement to its service with the introduction of a feature that allows subscribers to immediately watch movies and television series on Internet-connected PCs through real-time playback technology. As part of the introduction, the company said that over time it would focus on expanding its selection of instantly viewable content and work to bring the feature to all Internet-connected screens, from cell phones to PCs to plasma TVs. The appointment of Mr. Wood to lead the television effort underscores the company's commitment to that eventual step. Until his appointment by Netflix, Mr. Wood, 41, was CEO of Roku, a digital media company that manufactures and markets SoundBridge, the market-leading Internet radio, and BrightSign, a leading digital sign controller. He will remain chairman of the board of the Palo Alto, Calif.-based company. Mr. Wood is best known as the creator of the digital video recorder (DVR) and as the founder of ReplayTV, where he served as president and CEO before the company's acquisition by SONICblue in 2001. After the acquisition, he became senior vice president of engineering and was responsible for the ReplayTV and Rio product lines. Earlier, Mr. Wood founded and led iband Inc., an Internet software company acquired by Macromedia and SunRize Industries, a supplier of hardware and software tools for audio recording and editing. He holds a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Texas A&M University. About Netflix Netflix, Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX) is the world's largest online movie rental service, providing more than six million subscribers access to over 75,000 DVD titles. The company offers a variety of subscription plans, starting at $4.99 a month. There are no due dates, no late fees and no shipping fees. DVDs are delivered for free by the USPS from regional shipping centers located throughout the United States. Netflix can reach more than 90 percent of its subscribers with generally one business-day delivery. Netflix offers personalized movie recommendations to its members and has more than one billion movie ratings. Netflix also allows members to share and recommend movies to one another through its Friends(R) feature. For more information, visit http://www.netflix.com. SOURCE Netflix, Inc.
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