Netflix Locks Up Deal With Weinstein Co
Netflix is launching more marquee attractions in an attempt to sway off Comcast from taking its market share in online video streaming services.
The Internet video service locked up a deal with The Weinstein Co to show movies that are released before premium channels like Showtime and HBO.
The announcement coincides with cable provider Comcast’s plans to undercut Netflix with a less expensive version of a service that will stream old TV series and movies to Internet-connected devices.
Comcast’s new service, Xfinity Streampix, will be available this week to the company’s subscribers at $5 per month. This price range rival’s Netflix’s $8 monthly price for its Internet streaming service.
Netflix’s new deal ensures that the Academy Award nominated movie “The Artist” would be available on the streaming site before it airs on any paid television network.
“It is a fantastic coup for Netflix to acquire ‘The Artist’ and the package of additional titles,” Harvey Weinstein, the co-chairman of The Weinstein Company, said in a statement released to the press. “With this deal, a company that loves movies, Netflix, joins forces with a company that is built on that same love. It’s exciting that we can offer consumers a supremely convenient way to see the kinds of movies that made us want to be in this business in the first place.”
Weinstein Company also has films like “Inglorious Bastards”, “Our Idiot Brother” and “The King’s Speech.” The movie production company features many foreign language films and documentaries.
Netflix has already signed similar deals with Relatively Media, FilmDistrict and Open Road Films.
The company is facing growing competition with other online streaming services through Amazon.com and a Verizon-Redbox joint venture.
Netflix CEO Reed Hasting said that cable TV is his company’s biggest worry, and he specifically identified Time Warner Inc.’s HBO channel as Netflix’s toughest competition.
Comcast’s move to bring more Internet content to its users is driven by the 459,000 customers it lost last year. Comcast had 22.3 million video subscribers at that time, compared to Netflix’s 21.7 million U.S. subscribers.
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