Hotel deal, stock split up next for Netflix

Company hits all-time high after revealing Marriott will offer video service to guests

LOS ANGELES— Netflix Inc. rose after investors approved a proposal that paves the way for a stock split, and a deal was announced offering the video service in Marriott Hotels.

Netflix, the largest online subscription video service, hit an all-time high of $692.79 (U.S.) early Wednesday. The stock, the top 2015 gainer in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, has doubled this year, giving the Los Gatos, California-based company a market value exceeding $40 billion.

The accord with Marriott International Inc. extends a test, first reported by Bloomberg in January, to offer the service in a handful of hotels. The agreement highlights the way more consumers are watching video and entertainment programs on the go through streaming services and websites such as Netflix and Google Inc.’s YouTube.

Marriott said it plans to expand the Netflix offering to 100 of its properties by the end of the year and almost all of its 300 U.S. hotels by the end of 2016.

“Because consumers are choosing to take their streaming content with them when they travel, Marriott Hotels is making the industry’s first rollout of Netflix a priority,” Matthew Carroll, Marriott Hotels’ vice-president of brand management, said Wednesday in a statement.

Guests staying at select Marriott Hotels will be able to subscribe to Netflix or sign into their existing accounts using the Netflix app on the hotel’s Internet-connected guest room televisions, according to the statement.

At Tuesday’s meeting, Netflix investors supported a proposal to boost the authorized shares outstanding to about 5 billion from the 170 million authorized now, including preferred stock. The approval sets the stage for a stock split.

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said in April that he planned to recommend a stock split to the board and that a lower price would make the stock more accessible.