Starz content for $200 million a year? "That wouldn't be shocking," Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) CEO Reed Hastings said at the Wall Street Journal's D9 conference last week. The current deal, signed in 2008, is estimated to cost Netflix $30 million a year and is set to expire early in 2012.
 |
|
Netlfix could pay $200M a year, up from $30M, for Starz content like Party Down (pictured). |
Netflix, Hastings said, in what had to be the biggest understatement of the conference, has "grown a lot since then, and we can pay a lot more for content." Its current subscriber base is more than 23 million, nine million more than it was early in 2010.
Hastings certainly brought some star power to the annual fete, but he didn't say much of anything that he hasn't already said this year.
He reiterated his first quarter remarks to investors that the company has seen tremendous success in Canada and would be launching a second international foray in the third or fourth quarter this year. Among the most likely areas for expansion, according to some pundits, Latin America, including Mexico and Brazil, as well as Korea, Japan, India and, surprisingly, the U.K. Hastings declined to say where the next expansion would be.
Hastings also reiterated that the biggest threat to Netflix was pay-TV providers offering better over-the-top services to compete head-to-head with Netflix.
He did, however, give a shout out to Comcast's Xfinity TV and its over-the-top application for the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch.
For more:
- see this article
Related articles:
Netflix looking at $300M for Starz content?
Report: Netflix's Starz renewal will cost it 'north of $350M'
Will Netflix go to tier structure to keep Starz?
Netflix in bidding war for Warner Bros. programming
Bewkes tosses cold water on Time Warner/Netflix deal chatter
Netflix adds at least one 'buy now' button
Report says Netflix working with Facebook
Netflix: Threats to growth include TV Everywhere, content costs