, Columnist
Netflix Wants to Be HBO, Not Comcast
If Netflix can't beat the cable companies, maybe it should just join them.
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This is one of the most interesting pieces of news I've seen in a while: Netflix is looking to hook up with cable companies, allowing them to put a Netflix app on their set-top boxes. Talks are in early stages, so it's too soon to flip out about a sea change in telecoms. But if this moves forward, it will represent a dramatic change in Netflix's strategy -- and possibly a blow to the dreams of cord-cutters everywhere.
In the minds of many fans (including, at one point, me), Netflix was supposed to be the cable-killer. I explained why this was folly a few years back, after the brief and tragic life of Qwikster, Netflix Chief Executive Officer Reed Hastings's attempt to separate its DVD business from the streaming: