US-based firm Netflix has launched in the UK and Ireland, offering a new rival to Amazon-owned Lovefilm in the online video streaming arena.
Netflix launched in 2007 and now has more than 20 million online subscribers in 47 countries.
Films will be available on a variety of platforms, including games consoles, smartphones and tablets.
Netflix is betting on a breadth of locally produced content including full seasons of UK favourites such as Top Gear, The Only Way is Essex, The Inbetweeners and Torchwood.
Last summer research suggested that Netflix was the single biggest driver of internet traffic in the US.
However, the move follows a difficult period for the company shedding 800,000 customers in the third quarter of last year. Netflix also lost 61% of its market value in 2011.
Competition in the UK market is expected to be fierce. Lovefilm recently announced that it was experiencing its fastest customer growth rate since 2009, recently surpassing two million subscribers.
