Beverly Hills, Calif. – August 20, 2013 – Netflix Inc. and The Weinstein Company today announced a new multi-year licensing agreement that will make Netflix the exclusive U.S. subscription television service for first-run films from TWC beginning in 2016.
Starting with its 2016 theatrically released feature films, new TWC and Dimension Films titles will be made available for Netflix members to watch instantly in the pay TV window on multiple platforms, including televisions, tablets, mobile phones and computers.
Related: Netflix Stock Up After Weinstein Company Re-Up
Netflix is already the Pay TV home to TWC documentaries and foreign films, including the Academy Award winning Best Picture, The Artist, and Best Documentary Feature, Undefeated, as well as to a wide-range of movies released by multi-platform distribution label RADiUS-TWC.
“Harvey and Bob Weinstein are in a class to themselves when it comes to choosing and producing the best films in the world,” said Ted Sarandos, Chief Content Officer for Netflix. “They are as innovative in business as they are creative in their storytelling. We look forward to reinventing the pay TV window with the Weinsteins.”
“The deal that we’ve just completed with Netflix is probably the biggest deal in the history of The Weinstein Company and together, we are discussing ways to reinvent the pay TV experience so that the audience can get even more for their money,” said Harvey Weinstein. “Their enthusiasm for movies of all kinds was the big factor in our choosing Netflix. Moving forward when people see The Weinstein Company name on a movie they know that our pay TV partner is the most significant new force in the entertainment industry – Netflix.”
Ted Sarandos is in a class by himself as a former video seller who is the brains behind that operation. Why hasn’t a studio poached him?
Why would he want to go work for the old dinosaurs of Hollywood?
Agreed. Puke.
So where does this leave Showtime??? All they have left is Dreamworks, IFC and a few decent shows
And TWC still has a stake in Starz.
Showtime also airs first-run movies from CBS Films. But point taken. Weinstein is currently their best steady supplier of quality movies. A few years ago they balked at the prices demanded by Paramount, Lionsgate and MGM, so those studios walked away and formed Epix. Then Showtime lost Summit to HBO this year and in 2016 will lose Weinstein to Netflix. Showtime appears to be slowly going out of the business of airing first-run theatrical films. They’re spending their money (and staking their brand) on high-quality original programming and increasingly filling other hours with older second-run films from various major studios plus more recent small indie and straight-to-video movies. If that trend continues, I wonder if Showtime will still be seen as a direct competitor to HBO or more like an AMC without commercials. I think they’re betting that downplaying theatrical movies won’t really matter, that people don’t really subscribe to premium channels for movies any more but instead for shows like Homeland and Dexter. (Even Cinemax and Starz, originally channels purely dedicated to movies, now air original series.)
Maybe this is insurance for Netflix in case they lose the rights to their original shows like House of Cards. (From what I’ve read there’s no guarantee they hold on to the rights to their original shows beyond a three year exclusive license.) In that scenario, this deal makes sense; it’s good to know you have quality programming in the pipeline that license window expires, and it’s a good buffer against rising costs of acquiring content. The timing of the announcement is a little curious though. Three years is a long time. What’s the benefit for consumers in the interim?
You have heard wrong… Media Rights Capital can shop “House of Cards” to other distribution platforms in 3 years using a non-exclusive license NETFLIX grants to them, not vice versa… in other words: Netflix gets to keep streaming it, while MRC can syndicate to any non-Subscription Video On Demand platforms (no Hulu Plus, Amazon etc.). You’ll probably see House of Cards as syndicated reruns on TNT, FX or broadcast market syndication to ensure the content reaches broader audiences and after-life cash flow.
i thought it was a 7 year exclusive license?
I always find it galling when someone *announces* they’re going to “reinvent” something; images of the Segway immediately start dancing in my head.
So Harvey can continue to make changes to the film after Netflix has already started streaming them! Heaven for him.