Panasonic/Netflix partnership has a hitch

If you’ve got a Panasonic set with VierraCast functionality, don’t get too excited about the company’s newly announced partnership with Netflix.  

Earlier this week at CES, Panasonic announced it would be bringing several new partners, including Skype, Twitter, Pandora and Netflix, to its line of Internet-enabled TV sets. Existing customers will receive the new services via a firmware update.

Expect, it turns out, for Netflix. That widget will only be included in sets or BluRay players that are built in 2010 or later. Early adopters of the technology are being left out in the cold.

Apparently, there were contractual restrictions – which would seem to point the finger of blame at Netflix. What Panasonic couldn’t answer was why other manufacturers, some of which have had Netflix included for a while now, haven’t faced similar problems.