It looks like Netflix might have stolen a bit of Apple's MacWorld thunder.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Netflix has announced that it will start offering unlimited viewing of some of its content via its Watch Instantly service. They previously had set a limit of 17 hours per month, for the most party, for this service. As of Monday, the restrictions have been lifted for all Netfix subscribers except the cheapest, $4.99 a month subscriber, who can only watch 2 hours of Watch Instantly per month.

The announcement is making more waves because of the preemptive-strike nature, coming a day before MacWorld was set to kick off, and right before Steve Jobs was to announce a new service for his iTunes that would allow users to rent downloadable videos, not just purchase them. It is also said that he will announce that Fox and Disney have joined up with Apple in this video-rental service.

This service will also be viewable if you own an Apple TV set-top box, where you can watch the rental video right on your own television, instead of just your iPod. Netflix also has plans for a set-top box for your television, but they won't be ready until later this year.