Netflix CEO: Online Video Streaming Is The Future Of TV

Coming soon a TV near you: an unlimited supply of streaming options.

's CEO Reed Hastings

during the Media Convention in Berlin last week, and suggested an app-based streaming TV ecosystem is coming in our lifetime. According to Hastings, the inevitable transition of TV viewing from cable to streaming will mirror

's transformation of the smartphone market. "Ten years ago, there was no iPhone," Hastings said. "The entire smartphone revolution has happened in ten years. So, what about the next ten years? What will that bring in hardware innovation, in immersive reality, in incredible screens. Screens in the home. Screens in your pocket. The Internet will get so much faster with fiber. All of this will happen within ten years." Hastings continued that 4K televisions will become a large contributing factor towards the demise of broadcast cable. The upcoming World Cup will serve as an example as many people will have 4K televisions, but they won't tune in to broadcast or cable TV to watch the tournament. Rather, the 4K content will come over the internet as internet.

Hastings noted that some television networks will find success if they are able to successfully transition themselves from a TV network into an Internet TV related company. The barriers to entry are dropping which will result in the demise of some TV stations. "The great thing about the Internet is if you can build an app for the iPhone or the Android, you can be a TV network," the Netflix executive said. Naturally, Hastings is confident in his own company's future. He said that Netflix Is "really focused" on its own movies and TV shows. He further noted that the company will be "playing with the formats, with interactivity, with plot twists" with the end objective of making Netflix "connect the world… so the world's best storytellers can get to a global voice."