Report: Netflix To Expand To UK, Spain

Netflix is set to expand its streaming movie service -- which works with all major video game consoles -- to Spain and the United Kingdom, according to media reports. Daily Variety cites unnamed sources at "a few leading European film distributors" in reporting that the expansion is planned for the first quarter of 2012. The report comes on top of a Canadian launch for the streaming service last September, and planned launches in 43 Latin American and the Caribbean countries later this year. Netflix would face stiff competition in the British movie streaming market, with Amazon-owned LoveFilm and arthouse-focused Mubi both already available on British PlayStation 3s. Movie streaming on Netflix has become one of the most popular non-gaming uses for modern consoles, with more than 1.5 million Wii owners using the service daily on the Wii alone. A May report found that Netflix streaming through game consoles represented close to 20 percent of all American internet bandwidth during peak periods. Last January, Netflix credited game console streaming support for its speedy growth.