Netflix deal with Starz ends, loses Disney and Sony titles
updated 04:40 am EST, Thu March 1, 2012
Netflix deal means less content for subscribers
Following an announcement in September that Starz streaming content deal with Netflix would end in February, its content has now been pulled. Starz runs 17 channels include Encore as well as movies from Disney and Sony. Although Starz does not own the rights for all of Disney and Sony films, titles that have been pulled from Netflix include Scarface, Young Frankenstein, Toy Story 3, Big Trouble in Little China, Beetlejuice, Gangs of New York among numerous others.
Netflix had offered Starz $300 million to extend its deal, however Starz believed that its content was worth more than what Netflix was offering. At the time of the original announcement the company wrote, ‘This decision is a result of our strategy to protect the premium nature of our brand by preserving the appropriate pricing and packaging of our exclusive and highly valuable content.’
At the time Starz was rumored to want to push Netflix into offering tiered pricing for its content, charging premium prices for newer releases. This did not sit well with Netflix who have long preferred a flat-pricing model, while any additional fees paid to Starz would have also forced Netflix into charging users higher monthly access fees.
For its part Netflix spokesman Steve Swasey said that, ‘There’s always an ebb and flow of title availability, and there always will be. There's never a shortage of stuff. You'll see more titles soon.’ [via CNNMoney]
