And I thought it would never come to this - Netflix is seriously planning a download service. Bambi Francisco interviews Neil Hunt, chief product officer for Netflix.

Q: What percent of households are ready to view Netflix's movie-download service today? Hunt: We believe our service will be applicable to 75% of our customers. (Netflix ended Q3 2006 with 5.7 million subscribers, and it expects to end the year with 6.3 million subscribers).

Q: I have a Mac at home, so I won't be able to take advantage of this service. When will you be available on Apple's Mac and on a TV?
Hunt: Today, it's a PC platform only, we expect to have all Internet platforms in the future. I can't share details.

Q: How do the economics change for the content owners?

Hunt: It's all about the economics. We're bringing a new window into the mix. In yesterday's world, consumers had the option of buying/Renting a DVD, and waiting for ad-supported. We'll see the same segmentation in the electronic world. People pay a higher fee to own the rights to content; they pay a smaller fee for rental, and free for ad-supported. (The question was not really answered here)

Q: It's probably a huge cost-savings to stream vs. mail out DVDs, right?
Hunt: In aggregate, we're looking at a $300 million postal bill. As we switch to an online format, that's savings that we can recognize.

Q: In the next month, what cities will be able to get this service?
Hunt: We're not doing it by towns/cities. We're anxious that people get a great experience, so it will be a slow roll out. It'll be roughly a random dice toss.

Too bad - there is NO download service at all for Linux PCs. Mac only works with Itunes - hope that changes over time.