According to a report in The Washington Post, there’s a rumor circulating that Netflix is exploring the idea of deploying a new iPhone app for streaming movies and TV shows.  Actually, it’s a bit more than a rumor.  Netflix is currently conducting a survey with their user base to ascertain what the demand might be.

While this sounds like an obvious match in terms of desirability, current iPhone users who are wedded to AT&T as their service provider can already hear alarm bells ringing.  The AT&T network already seems to be taxed to the breaking point, as data feeds downloaded by iPhone users continues to grow exponentially.  Complaints of dropped calls and poor coverage are becoming legion.  It it seems unlikely that the current system could accommodate the addition of a streaming Netflix service.

Not to worry.  As a workaround, it seems that the new app would work only via WiFi.

The full text of the Netflix survey is as follows:

“Imagine that Netflix offers its subscribers the ability to instantly watch movies & TV episodes on their iPhone. The selection availability to instantly watch includes some new releases, lots of classics and TV episodes. There are no advertisements or trailers, and movies start in as little as 30 seconds. You can fast-forward, rewind, and pause or watch again.

The movies & TV episodes you instantly watch are included in your Netflix membership for no additional fee.  Whenever you want to instantly watch content on your iPhone, your iPhone must be connected to a Wi-Fi network (such as one you might have at home or at work, or in public places like coffee shops, book stores, hotels, airports, etc.)

If this functionality were available, how likely would you or someone in your household be to instantly watch movies & TV episodes on your iPhone via a Wi-Fi network?”

Thus far, there has been no official announcement, from either Netflix or Apple, that a deal is in the works.  And one should note that Apple is generally extremely protective of its home turf.  Would they approve of an app that posed potential competition to iTunes?

Nevertheless, it seems clear that a marriage between Netflix and a mobile OS is inevitable.  Currently, Apple is the big dog on the block.  But with Google’s Android and Microsoft’s latest Windows Mobile iteration both entering the fray, it should only be a matter of time before your favorite movies will be coming to a cell phone near you.

So Conan O’Brien has pulled the plug on his Tonight Show operation, and moved on, after a mere seven months in the House that Johnny Built.  While he launched comic barbs at NBC during much of his last week of broadcasts, and vowed to make each of his last five shows, if not funny, at least “crazy expensive,” his farewell speech on Friday night was nothing if not gracious.  If you’re feeling sentimental, you can read the complete text of Conan’s farewell speech by clicking on the link.

O’Brien thanked NBC for giving him an outlet for his show business urges for most of his adult life, and went on to say, “Walking away from The Tonight Show is the hardest thing I have ever had to do. Making this choice has been enormously difficult. This is the best job in the world, I absolutely love doing it, and I have the best staff and crew in the history of the medium. But despite this sense of loss, I really feel this should be a happy moment. Every comedian dreams of hosting The Tonight Show and, for seven months, I got to. I did it my way, with people I love, and I do not regret a second. I’ve had more good fortune than anyone I know and if our next gig is doing a show in a 7-Eleven parking lot, we’ll find a way to make it fun.”

O’Brien is prohibited by the terms of his severance agreement from appearing on a rival network for several months.  According to the most obvious rumors, he’s on Rupert Murdoch’s short list of available TV personalities should Fox decide to make another foray into the late night arena.  But that’s a big if.  Fox’s last serious effort in the late night genre produced Arsenio.  Remember him?  And if Fox isn’t a likely option, then what are the alternatives?  Jon Stewart and Steve Colbert seem to have the late night slots sewn up on Comedy Central.  Late night productions are much more expensive than, say, reruns of Seinfeld, and not necessarily as lucrative, based on ROI.  What then?

Ultimately, there are only so many places in America where a person can host a late night talk show.  If the 7-Eleven parking lot venue doesn’t pan out, O’Brien can undoubtedly fall back on a career for which he’s already shown a certain aptitude – making Swedish beer commercials.  See the video below.

But O’Brien needn’t feel rushed about making a decision.  NBC will pay Conan & Co. $45 million in severance, which is more than Ken Lewis received in return for skulking away from Bank of America quietly.  Of that sum, O’Brien will keep $33 million for himself, and the rest will be paid out to his staff.  Not bad, for seven months work.

In a move that is seen as a first step away from a strictly ad-supported business model, Google’s YouTube is partnering with Robert Redford’s Sundance Film Festival to offer five films from the 2009 and 2010 festival line-ups on a rental basis.  There’s a limited time window for renting the films, Jan. 22 through Jan. 31, which corresponds to the time frame of this year’s festival.

Google purchased YouTube three years ago for $1.76 billion in shares, and while they’ve monetized the site with ads, YouTube has yet to turn a profit.  Many skeptics have questioned the wisdom the acquisition (or its price, at any rate), but as Ken Auletta outlined in his new book, Googled: The End of the World As We Know It , the integration of YouTube into Google’s suite of services is consistent with their long range goal of becoming the world’s first “$100 billion media company.”

Microsoft capo Steve Ballmer has scathingly characterized Google as a “one trick pony,” and certainly the brain trust at Google is well aware that being completely dependent on search for its business has its limitations. Hence the acquisition of YouTube, the development of the Android platform, and the release of the Nexus One smart phone. Google wants a bigger piece of your online and mobile experience.

That might sound ominous to anti-monopolists, or anyone else who fears scale, but as Ken Auletta pointed out in a recent interview , Google’s corporate culture sets them apart from many of their corporate peers.  “Google is not composed of cold businessmen,” said Auletta.  “They are cold engineers. The difference is that Google is not obsessed with killing competitors. They’re obsessed with eliminating inefficiencies.”

Microsoft’s business model, on the other hand, may be summarized by a simple three-step program: (a) copy the competition’s product, (b) annex the competition’s market share, either by leveraging Windows, or by throwing cash at the problem (e.g. Bing’s new omnipresent ad presence on the web), and finally (c) annihilate the competition.  And annihilation of the enemy is what Microsoft is all about.  Steve Ballmer is Dick Cheney in drag.

While Microsoft might seem reasonably benevolent on the surface, their long term goal has always been monopoly.  Monopoly may be defined as a single-player market, with no visible competition. And as you doubtless remember from Econ 101, in a market without competition, the single player can (a) safely repress any urge they might have to innovate, and (b) charge whatever they damn well please for the product.  Sound familiar?

If YouTube’s experiment in film rental proves at all successful, or even if it doesn’t, you can be sure we’ll see more of it in the future.