Netflix distributes a huge amount of video programming and a rapidly increasing percentage of it via streaming. But in the race for hot new titles, it tends to lag behind cable/satellite VOD and disc release. Now Netflix is looking to improve its game by licensing original content and streaming it ahead of competitors.

The first property Netflix is eyeing is House of Cards, a remake of a BBC thriller of the same name, this time starring Kevin Spacey and directed by David Fincher, who directed The Social Network. Netflix is bidding $100 million for two seasons of the series in the hope that it may do for Netflix what The Sopranos did for HBO and Mad Men did for AMC.

YouTube's success has nudged Netflix into video streaming. Install the Windows-only software, browse, hit add, and play. Sounds easy, doesn't it? Initial movie and TV titles from several major studios number only 1000, compared to the 70,000 in Netflix's conventional rental inventory. Subscribers with the most common plan get 18 hours of free viewing per month. Those with cheaper/costlier plans will get less/more. The service will roll out over the next six months.

Attention Netflix streamers: The "Add to DVD Queue" option will be eliminated from streaming devices. The move effectively means that you can rent a disc only by going to your computer, even if you pay the monthly rate for a combined streaming and disc plan.

The announcement came in a company blog. Here is the blog post in its entirety:

Netflix has officially taken the wraps off its previously announced streaming-only plan for the U.S. The price is a low-low-low $7.99. However, the announcement also brings price hikes for the existing disc-and-streaming plans.