Netflix to Launch Streaming Service in Nordic Countries by Year's End

LONDON -- Netflix will launch its streaming video service in Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Finland before the end of the year.

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The company said it would offer streaming of TV shows and movies for one monthly price late in 2012. "Further details about the service, including pricing, content and supported devices, will be announced closer to launch," it said.

About the content the service will offer, Netflix also said it will be "a wide array of Hollywood, local and global TV shows and movies, many with high-definition video and Dolby Digital Plus surround sound."

Amazon-owned video streaming provider LoveFilm, a big Netflix competitor in the U.K., is already a player in Scandinavia.

Netflix, led by CEO Reed Hastings, launched its streaming service in the U.S. in 2007 before adding Canada in 2010. It continued its rollout with a launch in Latin America in 2011 and the U.K. and Ireland in early 2012.

Some observers had predicted that Spain or the Nordic countries could be next for the company, which has cited the cost of international rollouts as a factor hurting its profitability

Email: Georg.Szalai@thr.com
Twitter: @georgszalai