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At a time when many in Hollywood see Netflix as a threat, Showtime Networks said it will cut back the content it licenses to the company's streaming-video service.
This summer, when the current deal between Showtime and Netflix expires, Netflix's new streaming agreement doesn't include any of the first-run series that currently appear on the premium-cable service.
Under the new deal, Netflix subscribers lose access this summer to such as shows "Californication and "Dexter." (Showtime is owned by CBS, parent company of CNET.)
While past seasons of "Dexter" will be pulled, Netflix will continue to stream episodes of "The Tudors" and other Showtime series that have already gone off the air, Showtime said.
CBS cut a similar streaming deal with Netflix, offering only dated catalog titles such as "Family Ties" and "Star Trek" but no current shows.
Click the photo to read 'Netflix spooks Hollywood more than ever.'
(Credit: Greg Sandoval)
For months, media moguls and studio executives have tried to label Netflix a threat to the TV and film industries. Two weeks ago, on a trip to Hollywood to meet with studio contacts, I was told that they would continue to supply Netflix with content but not their most valuable. In some cases not even their second-tier content.
The message was that they simply can't afford to allow a discounter like Netflix to offer TV shows and films until their content had gone through the traditional distribution chain and most of the value was squeezed out. In other words, they want cable, pay TV services and local TV stations to get a crack at the shows and films first.
One studio source who wasn't as down on Netflix predicted that the pressure on Netflix would ease as soon as the big studios learned how to correctly price their content for digital distribution. The source said the backlash in Hollywood against Netflix is only a knee-jerk response to a service that grew 60 percent last year and now boasts 20 million subscribers. But even the source said there's no way the studios are going to hand over new releases and hit films to Netflix until they are back catalog.
The service is growing fast and that worried the studios. They don't want people getting used to watching high-quality shows on an all-you-can-east basis for just $8 a month--less than the price of a single DVD.
Meanwhile, Netflix has upped the ante by acquiring distribution rights to original content. Last week, the Los Gatos, Calif.-based company acquired the rights to "House of Cards," a new series from actor Kevin Spacey and director David Fincher. The cost is said to between the $50 million $100 million range and that's likely too expensive for Netflix to acquire the same caliber of show too often.
More to come
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This summer, when the current deal between Showtime and Netflix expires, Netflix's new streaming agreement doesn't include any of the first-run series that currently appear on the premium-cable service.
Under the new deal, Netflix subscribers lose access this summer to such as shows "Californication and "Dexter." (Showtime is owned by CBS, parent company of CNET.)
While past seasons of "Dexter" will be pulled, Netflix will continue to stream episodes of "The Tudors" and other Showtime series that have already gone off the air, Showtime said.
CBS cut a similar streaming deal with Netflix, offering only dated catalog titles such as "Family Ties" and "Star Trek" but no current shows.
Click the photo to read 'Netflix spooks Hollywood more than ever.'(Credit: Greg Sandoval)
For months, media moguls and studio executives have tried to label Netflix a threat to the TV and film industries. Two weeks ago, on a trip to Hollywood to meet with studio contacts, I was told that they would continue to supply Netflix with content but not their most valuable. In some cases not even their second-tier content.
The message was that they simply can't afford to allow a discounter like Netflix to offer TV shows and films until their content had gone through the traditional distribution chain and most of the value was squeezed out. In other words, they want cable, pay TV services and local TV stations to get a crack at the shows and films first.
One studio source who wasn't as down on Netflix predicted that the pressure on Netflix would ease as soon as the big studios learned how to correctly price their content for digital distribution. The source said the backlash in Hollywood against Netflix is only a knee-jerk response to a service that grew 60 percent last year and now boasts 20 million subscribers. But even the source said there's no way the studios are going to hand over new releases and hit films to Netflix until they are back catalog.
The service is growing fast and that worried the studios. They don't want people getting used to watching high-quality shows on an all-you-can-east basis for just $8 a month--less than the price of a single DVD.
Meanwhile, Netflix has upped the ante by acquiring distribution rights to original content. Last week, the Los Gatos, Calif.-based company acquired the rights to "House of Cards," a new series from actor Kevin Spacey and director David Fincher. The cost is said to between the $50 million $100 million range and that's likely too expensive for Netflix to acquire the same caliber of show too often.
More to come
Powered By WizardRSS.com | Full Text RSS Feed | WordPress Plugin