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Showtime to pull shows like ‘Dexter’ from Netflix streamFollow

#1 Mar 24 2011 at 11:34 AM Rating: Good
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/showtime-to-pull-shows-like-dexter-from-netflix-streaming-service-amid-emerging-rivalry/2011/03/23/ABoR9OKB_story.html

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LOS ANGELES — Amid an emerging rivalry between traditional pay TV operators and rising star Netflix Inc., CBS Corp.’s Showtime pay TV service confirmed Wednesday that back seasons of current original series like “Dexter” and “Californication” will not be available on Netflix’s streaming service as of this summer.

Instead, CBS will offer them to subscribers who pay for Showtime through Comcast Corp. on Comcast’s Xfinity TV online platform. Other cable TV providers are expected to offer online access to Showtime in the future.

Netflix and CBS had reached a separate deal in February that allows older shows that are not generating new original episodes to be run on Netflix’s streaming service, including “Medium,” “Frasier” and “Cheers.”

But news that episodes of current Showtime series would no longer be available broke this week after Netflix announced it was buying the right to debut the series “House of Cards” from executive producer David Fincher.

Debuting an original series on its service makes Netflix even more of a direct rival to pay TV channels like Showtime and HBO.

Netflix had 20.2 million subscribers in the U.S. at the end of December, compared with just under 20 million for Showtime and HBO’s estimated 28 million.

Showtime originals that have stopped airing on TV, including “The Tudors” and “Sleeper Cell,” will continue to be available for streaming on Netflix.

Netflix spokesman Steve Swasey acknowledged the deal allowing it to stream Showtime shows like “Dexter” would expire this summer. But he said negotiations were still ongoing to keep them up.

“We’re perplexed at these comments because we’re negotiating and these titles may or may not be available,” he said.

The conflicting versions of events highlight how new technology is upending the traditional pay TV business.

CBS is seeking to maximize the money it can receive from Netflix from older content, while encouraging consumers to continue to subscribe through pay TV providers like Comcast for new original shows on Showtime.

Highlighting the importance of these existing arrangements, CBS cut a 10-year pact with Comcast in August. The deal allows for CBS and Showtime shows to be played on Comcast’s Xfinity TV platform, which can be accessed on computers and iPad tablets.

Other companies, like Time Warner Inc.’s HBO have shunned Netflix entirely. HBO offers its service online for no extra charge to its pay TV subscribers.

Netflix, meanwhile, has been spending more to acquire the rights to TV shows and movies that it can stream to customers to wean them off ordering DVDs in the mail in an effort to reduce postage costs.

Goldman Sachs analyst Ingrid Chung said the impact of CBS pulling some shows from Netflix would not materially affect Netflix, but it could signal that it will have to pay more for the right to stream shows in the future.

CBS shares closed up 21 cents at $24.87 on Wednesday, while Netflix shares finished the regular session up $7.67, or 3.5 percent, at $229.06.


I don't watch Dexter myself but I figure some of you would be interested in this.
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#2 Mar 24 2011 at 11:37 AM Rating: Good
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Its a good show, but I wouldn't pay for a station just to watch it.
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#3 Mar 24 2011 at 11:41 AM Rating: Good
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Pay-for-online-TV could do with some consolidation. There are currently too many providers with too few options for me to ever consider it.
#4 Mar 24 2011 at 11:56 AM Rating: Excellent
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lolgaxe wrote:
Its a good show, but I wouldn't pay for a station just to watch it.

That's my thought. At a micro level, my response would be "Guess I'll wait for the DVDs and get 'em from Netflix", not "Holy cats, I need to subscribe to Showtime!" Or, I'd just resort to shady, illegitimate means. Either way, Showtime would have been better off striking a deal and profiting off it.

And "Californication" wasn't worth watching after Season One.
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#5 Mar 24 2011 at 12:16 PM Rating: Good
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Looks like I need to get off my *** and finish season 1 (and seasons 2-whatever).
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#6 Mar 24 2011 at 12:52 PM Rating: Good
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Jophiel wrote:
And "Californication" wasn't worth watching.


Fixed.
#7 Mar 24 2011 at 1:08 PM Rating: Excellent
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Jophiel wrote:
lolgaxe wrote:
Its a good show, but I wouldn't pay for a station just to watch it.

I'd just resort to shady, illegitimate means.


This is probably my first response Smiley: nod
#8 Mar 24 2011 at 10:35 PM Rating: Decent
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LockeColeMA wrote:
Jophiel wrote:
lolgaxe wrote:
Its a good show, but I wouldn't pay for a station just to watch it.

I'd just resort to shady, illegitimate means.


This is probably my first response Smiley: nod


It's going to be my first response next month when "Game of Thrones" premiers. Part of me feels guilty about not paying for it, but I really have no interest in HBO beyond the series. Aside from that, I already know the plot backwards and forwards. Seems a bit silly to pay for a story I already know. I might buy the DVDs if it's done well enough, but that's about it.
#9 Mar 24 2011 at 11:00 PM Rating: Good
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Turin wrote:
LockeColeMA wrote:
Jophiel wrote:
lolgaxe wrote:
Its a good show, but I wouldn't pay for a station just to watch it.

I'd just resort to shady, illegitimate means.


This is probably my first response Smiley: nod


It's going to be my first response next month when "Game of Thrones" premiers. Part of me feels guilty about not paying for it, but I really have no interest in HBO beyond the series. Aside from that, I already know the plot backwards and forwards. Seems a bit silly to pay for a story I already know. I might buy the DVDs if it's done well enough, but that's about it.


Reported.







...to Sean Bean.

Boromir's gonna get you!

Edited, Mar 25th 2011 1:01am by Eske
#10 Mar 27 2011 at 8:24 PM Rating: Good
But, but... I don't wanna wait for DVD's of Weeds Season 6. -_- Lame.
#11 Mar 28 2011 at 4:12 PM Rating: Decent
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I'm more concerned about Comcast ever increasing sphere of influence than I am about Dexter. How can the show be good? It isn't even animated!
#12 Mar 29 2011 at 4:18 AM Rating: Good
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Allegory wrote:
I'm more concerned about Comcast ever increasing sphere of influence than I am about Dexter. How can the show be good? It isn't even animated!


I like Dexter. I also dislike Comcast, because they are not so great in stability for locations where fiber isn't available.

I can't in good faith chastise Comcast for expanding their influence while in negotiations with Omnicom. Otherwise, though, that would be unsettling.

Edited, Mar 29th 2011 6:21am by Timelordwho
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#13 Apr 02 2011 at 6:13 PM Rating: Good
good thing god made torrent =)
#14 Apr 02 2011 at 6:32 PM Rating: Excellent
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Sakkitakki wrote:
good thing god made torrent =)


Yeah...God made it... Smiley: um
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#15 Apr 03 2011 at 1:06 AM Rating: Good
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In Australia a DVD generally costs $25, or $5-15 if it's an old obscure movie on special. A box set of something like House seasons 1-5 will typically cost about $300. I've NEVER been able to regularly buy DVDs I want, nor to put cable on my budget. (When I wa poor I was poor, when my partner was rich I was ill and expensive). So my DVD collection is pitiably small compared to my wishes.

With pirating so readily available, I think media companies are insane to price things as they do. They have to start thinking about making their products CHEAP and ubiquitous, instead of trying to be certain of recouping costs project by project.

If a film I wanted to see cost $5 I'd buy it to own. If a TV episode cost $1 I'd buy it to own. If a song cost $0.10c I'd buy it to own.

Over time, I think a good piece of media would have a viewing/listening audience of at least 1 billion people. Try collecting a little from a lot of people over time, instead of collecting as much up front as possible. Then old projects could cross-fund new projects, and popular projects could cross-fund quality projects, once the profits are in.

Media companies are grouchy because the viewing/listening audience has exponentially exploded via new tech, while their PAYING audience has only grown moderately. I think that shows that they now have their pricing wrong.


And to us, I think there's some really good TV shows that have surprisingly low audiences and are canned, especially in the SF genre. If we want good high tech shows, we need some of the high tech savvy people to buy what they can afford to in the mean time.
#16 Apr 06 2011 at 7:51 AM Rating: Good
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This just in:

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Lions Gate Entertainment Corp., which produces the hit television series "Mad Men," struck a deal with Netflix Inc. to stream all seven seasons of the critically acclaimed show about a 1960s advertising agency.

The deal is worth between $75 million and $100 million, people close to the situation said. That means Netflix is paying close to $1 million per episode of the series, which "Mad Men" creator Matthew Weiner said last week would run seven seasons. Each season has 13 episodes, which Lions Gate licenses to cable network AMC.

The new agreement marks the latest deal that Netflix has struck with a film and television studio. The company has recently inked a slew of deals to add new content to its streaming site, including one with Miramax, which includes "Pulp Fiction" and other iconic independent movies.

Netflix is also in discussions with Comcast Corp.'s NBCUniversal over a new content deal, according to people familiar with the matter. If reached, a deal would include TV episodes from earlier seasons of NBCU's cable and broadcast shows and be non-exclusive, the people said. Financial terms on the table couldn't be learned but one of the people said a deal would dramatically expand the amount of NBCU content offered through the service.

A Netflix spokesman earlier declined to comment about an NBCU deal. The spokesman later didn't return multiple requests for comment about a "Mad Men" deal. In a recent interview, Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos said "stay tuned" when asked when the company would secure Internet rights for the series.

Under the "Mad Men" deal, viewers will be able to stream the first four seasons of "Mad Men" on Netflix around mid-July. Once the final episode of the fifth season finishes airing on AMC in 2012, episodes from that entire season will also be available on Netflix. The sixth and final seasons of "Mad Men" will follow a similar pattern.

This is not the first time that Lions Gate has teamed up with Netflix. Last year, Netflix struck a deal with start-up pay TV channel Epix, which included online rights to films from its three equity partners, Viacom Inc.'s Paramount Pictures, Lions Gate, and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. The five-year deal cost Netflix about $1 billion.

In recent weeks, Netflix has aggressively pursued new sources of content, especially in the television space. It acquired its first original TV series earlier this year when it reached an agreement to serve as the distributor of "House of Cards," a David Fincher series starring Kevin Spacey.

The status of the NBCU deal is unclear. The entertainment giant already supplies Netflix episodes of shows like "Saturday Night Live." A bigger deal would be a sign of Comcast's willingness to team with services that threaten its cable business, shedding light on an issue that's been closely speculated about since it acquired control of the company for $13.45 billion in cash and assets in January.


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"We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary."
— James D. Nicoll
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