Google unveiled its Chromecast on Wednesday along with Android 4.3 Jelly Bean and the Google Nexus (2013) tablet. It went on sale the same day and it looks like Google has an unexpected hit on its hands. When Google announced the small US$35 dongle that helps bridge the gap between mobile devices and televisions, it included a promotion that gave buyers three free months of Netflix service (worth about US$24). Less than 48 hours later, Google has had to put an end to the promotion.
In a statement provided to the Los Angeles Times, Google explained: “Due to overwhelming demand for Chromecast devices since launch, the three-month Netflix promotion (which was available in limited quantities) is no longer available.”
A Reddit user claiming to be a Netflix employee provides some background on why Google had to halt the promotion. It appears that neither company thought the device would catch on like it did: “As a Netflix employee, We are just flabbergasted. There were more than 200,000 promo codes created for this. Never did we expect ANYTHING like this.”
The Chromecast is currently only available in the U.S. It is sold out on Google Play and every other retailer that carries it. It is currently backordered for several weeks. It may be a while yet before we see it in Canada.
It will be interesting to see if the Chromecast continues to sell as well now that the Netflix promotion has ended.