News

Deutsche Telekom is in talks with U.S. video streaming company Netflix about a possible marketing alliance, a German magazine reported on Friday.

German monthly Magazine Manager cited people familiar with the matter as saying the talks were far advanced but no deal had been clinched and that Netflix was also in touch with other German telecoms groups.

Netflix in May unveiled plans to launch in both Germany and France this year, in the biggest test so far of its global expansion strategy.

Manager Magazine said Deutsche Telekom was open to accommodate Netflix’s expansion even though the service would compete with the German company’s own web-based TV offering called “Entertain”.

Deutsche Telekom declined to comment.

Netflix, whose internet-based delivery of movies and TV series such as “House of Cards” has disrupted pay-TV markets in the United States and elsewhere, wants to grow its international business to reach new customers and increase its buying clout with content providers.

It is already in more than 40 countries, mostly in Latin America, and has entered Britain, Ireland, the Nordics and the Netherlands in the past two years.

In Germany, it would compete with Amazon’s Prime Instant Video, ProSiebenSat.1’s Maxdome, Sky Deutschland’s Snap and Vivendi’s Watchever.

Germany has the highest number of broadband households in Europe, with 29.1 million in 2013, according to estimates from SNL Kagan.

($1 = 0.7302 Euros; $1 = 0.5935 British Pounds)