GigaOM directs our attention to an interesting video interview with Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, who dissects Netflix's role as the premier application for broadband. Hastings discusses how the future for Netflix is bright, given the tendency to embed every consumer device with a $10 Wi-Fi chipset, and the fact that bandwidth prices continue to drop. He doesn't get into specific bandwidth costs for the Netflix streaming service, but he cites the fact that "Moore's law is an amazing thing" in a world where Amazon now charges 5 cents a gigabyte for bandwidth and you can transfer a movie for about a nickel. "What's fueling the whole system is the end users, who are paying $40-$60 to their ISP, and that's funding the whole system," says Hastings.

When last we checked in with Comcast's Internet video "TV Everywhere" initiative, it was looking more like "TV in some places, some of the time," given there were hints the service wouldn't be available to customers who weren't using a Comcast cable modem for broadband access. The idea of course is to provide existing TV customers access to free Internet video so they won't cut the cord -- but as we've explored, if the industry screw things up it could have the exact opposite effect.

Comcast of course is currently engaged in a trial of the service with about 5,000 of their customers, and is set to launch the program next month. As noted above, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts recently suggested that the service would only work if you were on a Comcast broadband connection.

It has been interesting watching Blockbuster video adapt to the broadband age, with the company seemingly not trying very hard out of fear of cannibalizing their brick and mortar revenue and losing control. Early efforts to mirror Netflix's success at broadband video delivery have seemed relatively lackluster, and the company's CEO, when announcing such broadband initiatives, seems to almost expect them to fail.

Blockbuster's latest video effort is a strange one in the face of 50 Mbps fiber and cable connections at home, and increasingly speedy connectivity options while on the go. They're offering movies at kiosks on SD card.

According to Media Memo, Apple is pitching the idea of a new, "over the top" $30 a month subscription broadband TV service. The service, which would not be tied to Apple's Apple TV device, would simply be an extension of the iTunes video store. According to the report, Disney is one likely possible partner -- an interesting mention given they're supposedly having some trouble agreeing with cable companies over payment for their "TV Everywhere" online video initiative. Of course cable operators will fight like hell given this would be a direct competitor to both regular cable and TV Everywhere, and broadcasters may not sign up out of fear of threatening their relationships with cable companies.

Nintendo Wii owners were recently left feeling a little under appreciated with the news that Playstation 3 owners will be getting Netflix broadband video streaming next month. Blog rumblings indicate that Netflix streaming will be coming to the Wii eventually, but may not arrive until next year with the shipping of a modified, HD-capable Wii variant. This image was sent out to some Wii owners in a survey last march, and the console owners have been eagerly anticipating the streaming service ever since. The blog's leak sources insist that it's not entirely impossible the launch could also happen before the holidays.