Netflix Inks Streaming Deal with DreamWorks Animation: On the one hand the deal could not come at a better time for Netflix which has come under criticism from streaming subscribers who complain that its library of content is limited, especially compared to what’s available from its DVD business.
On the other hand, the New York Times reports that the deal won’t go into effect until 2013. Earlier this month Starz Entertainment, a supplier of Sony and Walt Disney content said that it was not renewing its Netflix partnership.
The Netflix deal means Dreamworks, the studio behind family friendly fare from “Shrek” to “Kung Fu Panda” — is eschewing premium pay-TV operator HBO in favor of online streaming, the Times reported. HBO is a unit of Time Warner Inc. “We are really starting to see a long-term road map of where the industry is headed,” Dreamworks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg was cited as saying to the newspaper in an interview.
The content agreement comes days after Netflix, which has seen its share price decline sharply after a series of missteps, sealed an agreement to broadcast TV shows from Discovery Communications Inc.
Netflix needs to add more content to its streaming service to keep drawing in new customers and fend off competition from the likes of Amazon.com, Google Inc and Apple Inc.
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