Pretty much every contemporary gaming machine - be it a tablet, smartphone, console, handheld or PC - has the ability to connect to the internet for streaming media content. If you're using such a device to watch Netflix on a Comcast network, your speed and stability should see a bump in the near future.

Netflix and Comcast have announced a new joint partnership in which Netflix will pay the internet and cable service provider for direct access to its broadband systems. Netflix previously worked with a middleman company called Cogent through which they bought their bandwidth, but now that company has been cut out of future proceedings.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the deal was originally struck in January, but it wasn't until today that the companies released a joint statement confirming the new relationship. January was also when a Washington, DC appeals court voided the anti-blocking and anti-discrimination rules that the FCC used to enforce net neutrality, which you can read more about thanks to our friends at Engadget.

It's unclear for now what the Comcast/Netflix deal will mean for net neutrality - the press release states that Netflix will not be given preferential treatment - but if nothing else, it could mean a great deal to a Netflix subscriber's wallet. If Netflix is paying Comcast more than they were paying Cogent, there's a financial cost that needs to be accounted for. [Image: Netflix]