Late last week, Netflix stock made a nice jump after company officials mentioned that they had a big announcement coming this weekend.  The announcement was to mention a new platform that they would be delivering instant streaming on starting in a short period of time.  Rumors started to swirl that it would be either the PS3 or the Nintendo Wii, but as of this evening, Sony and Netflix have put out a joint press release that the PS3 will have Netflix in the next month.

Basically, the service would work similar to the way it works on the Xbox 360, but instead of it being built into the actual operating system on the PS3, you would actually insert an Instant Streaming disc that would open up a Netflix front end that would allow streaming of movies.  The selection will be the same as it is for all other delivery platforms, and their will be no additional costs on the PSN, with the exception of needing a Netflix account.  Also, the Instant Streaming discs are to be offered as a free item, although the press release does make it sound like they might charge for them in the future.

So PS3 owners, are we happy, sad or indifferent over this development.  I like the idea of Netflix coming to other platforms, but I wonder if Sony could of made it easier by developing an extension to the Media bar that would support Netflix instant streaming natively, instead of using an extra disc to make the magic happen.  I can say this – I have already put in a request for a disc.