Netflix is trying to help millions of users with this new streaming deal

Feb 24, 2014 07:55 GMT  ·  By

Netflix and Comcast have signed an agreement that gives the streaming service direct access to Comcast’s broadband network. This should ensure a smooth streaming experience for users, after months of complaints about the buffering and speed problems.

It looks like the two companies had been working on this agreement for months.   “Working collaboratively over many months, the companies have established a more direct connection between Netflix and Comcast, similar to other networks, that’s already delivering an even better user experience to consumers, while also allowing for future growth in Netflix traffic. Netflix receives no preferential network treatment under the multi-year agreement, terms of which are not being disclosed,” the announcement reads.

Considering that a report released last year revealed that Netflix accounted for about a third of all Internet traffic in the United States, the deal is that much more important.

While many feel that this is related to issues of net neutrality, the two companies try to take the spotlight away from this by claiming that there’s no “preferential network treatment.”

Basically, this is Netflix’s way of ensuring that heavy users have a possibility to watch their shows without stutters via Comcast.

The deal comes quite soon after Comcast announced that it was going to acquire Time Warner Cable for $45 billion (€32.7 billion). This would give it an even bigger control over the Internet connections in the United States. Their combined market would control more than one third of the high-speed Internet market in the US.

This past weekend, Netflix’s Internet provider said that Verizon, Comcast and Time Warner were causing streaming issues for Netflix, which means that the company may have been pushed into the deal it signed with Comcast to make sure that it provides quality-services to its millions of users.

The agreement may set a precedent for Netflix’s relationship with ISPs.