Will Microsoft Offer Netflix Movies Over Xbox?

Interesting piece today by the Games editor at MSNBC speculating that Microsoft (MSFT) Wednesday could unveil a deal to offer downloadable movies from Netflix (NFLX) over the Xbox Live online service. The story notes that Netflix CEO Reed Hastings is on the Microsoft board; there have been rumors that the companies might find a way to work together for months now. The piece also notes that Xbox Live exec John Schappert will deliver a keynote tomorrow at the Game Developer’s Conference in San Francisco.

And there is this interesting observation in the post:

The biggest hint about a possible deal came last week, when a survey Netflix had distributed to its members started popping up on blogs. The headline of the survey read “Now you can watch movies from Netflix instantly by using your existing Xbox Live account.” And then, the question: “If, as part of your Netflix membership you could instantly watch movies and TV episodes on your TV with your Xbox 360, how likely would you/anyone in your household be to do that?”

The MSNBC piece notes that Xbox Live on its own offers 300 movies, compared with the 7,000 available through Netflix’s Watch Instantly service.

Netflix shares Tuesday are up 16 cents, at $26.76.