The game-changing exclusive deal between Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX) and the Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) is only the start of things to come--at least if Netflix execs have their way--as studios start to look at how consumers watch television and re-evaluate the old pay TV model.
A story in the New York Post quotes the online video provider's content boss, Ted Sarandos, as saying the service is in talks with other studios to "accelerate the windows and get fresher content." Sarandos made his comments during the UBS Global & Media Conference.
The Disney deal shook up the pay TV space for both premium channel providers (Netflix outbid Starz for Disney content starting in 2016) and service providers who now must consider how they blend Netflix's OTT service into their more traditional channels. It didn't come cheap, with some estimates putting its value at $350 million, but it did change the landscape on how studios sell their content in the pay TV window.
And it left open the possibility that other studios might follow suit. For instance, Sarandos pointed out that Warner Bros. "deal [with HBO] is up in 2014. This gives Warner the opportunity to do other things, to look at this."
That, the story noted, is something of a long shot, because Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) owns both Warner Bros. and HBO. On the other hand, Universal, owned by Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA), could have some content that Netflix can grab away from HBO, Sarandos suggested.
"Netflix is in the early stages of what this business can be," Sarandos concluded.
For more:
- the New York Post has this story
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