It was probably inevitable. Netflix is now planning to offer its streaming-video service, which has been a hit among consumers, as a stand-alone option. CFO Barry McCarthy told attendees at the Jefferies Internet and Media conference that the company was “likely to do that in the foreseeable future,” according to Reuters—though he made a point to note that the company was still committed to its rental-by-mail business.

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Netflix (NSDQ: NFLX) launched its streaming movie service in early 2007, though the complicated execution led to limited adoption; it unveiled unlimited streaming in early 2008, then brokered a slew of deals to allow streaming through devices like the Roku player, TiVo and the Xbox 360. The evolution of the streaming service has steadily attracted new users: Netflix said it topped the 10 million subscriber mark two weeks ago—fueled by a surge of more than 600,000 new subscriptions since the start of 2009; CEO Reed Hastings noted that streaming was “energizing” the company’s growth during the Q4 earnings call.

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