A recent post on the US PlayStation Blog has casually announced that the video rental service, Netflix, will soon be available to PS3 owners in the US, allowing current Netflix subscribers to instantly stream movies and TV episodes via your PS3 to watch on the telly, at no extra charge.

A reported 9 million (or close to it) PS3 owners in the US may not directly intersect with the 11.1 million Netflix subscribers in the region, but this new service addition at least gives PS3 owners a new feature to shout about, which president and CEO at SCEA, Jack Tretton, is all too keen on doing:

“The PlayStation 3 system has always been about more than just gaming, and it will soon be the only platform in the industry to offer consumers such a variety of convenient options for enjoying movies and TV shows.

“Whether you want to watch content on Blu-ray disc and DVD, download it from the PlayStation Network’s video delivery service, or stream videos instantly from Netflix, the PS3 system is the only solution that offers it all.”

Netflix subscribers will need to enable the service on their PS3 by obtaining a free instant streaming Blu-Ray disc, leverages Blu-ray’s BD-Live technology to access the Internet and activate the Netflix user interface on the PS3 system, which must be online via Wi-Fi or Ethernet.”

Netflix members and PS3 owners alike can reserve this disc now by visiting www.netflix.com/ps3, and will be delivered upon availability, also for free.

The service is expected to debut on the PS3 next month.