It took two years, but YouView TV boxes are finally getting Netflix

BT has announced a deal with Netflix that means owners of BT YouView set-top boxes will soon be able to stream from the popular movie and TV service.

BT currently offers YouView boxes as part of all of its TV Entertainment packages, and you'll soon be able to add the £5.99-a-month Netflix service to its list of skills.

You'll pay for the Netflix subscription as part of your monthly bill, rather than doing so separately as most current Netflix subscribers do.

The exact rollout dates of this Netflix-YouView plan were not part of the announcement, but there's also a more important question.

For non-BT YouView'ers

Will YouView users who don't have a BT box or don't subscribe to BT services be able to use Netflix through YouView? At present we just don't know, but we've asked.

Non-BT-branded YouView boxes are available for under £200, making them fairly attractive for those looking to try the free-to-use YouView service without a contract.

BT's announcement does not shed any light on the matter.

"We continue to focus on strengthening our TV proposition and are excited to announce we have entered into a partnership with Netflix that will allow our customers to sign up for Netflix alongside our other products and services, with the added convenience of paying on one bill directly through BT," read the statement.

We asked for clarification, we were told the rather cryptic, "We will be revealing more about our plans for Netflix in the comings weeks so will be able to tell you more then," by a BT spokesperson. But it shows more is brewing.

Rumours that Netflix will come to YouView have circulated for months – and it has been anticipated for years. YouView originally launched in 2012, and a lack of Netflix cited as one of its key issues.

In early October, it was rumoured that Netflix was in talks with multiple YouView backers, not just BT. TalkTalk and Arquiva sit alongside BT as major telecoms YouView backers. It seems likely this will be the first of multiple Netflix deals announced, and hopefully a precursor to a system-wide Netflix roll-out.

• But just how good is Netflix these days?

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