Lucky Canadian Netflix subscribers will be able to stream Star Wars: The Force Awakens eight months after it leaves the cinemas. Australian subscribers have no luck whatsoever.
According to report from Variety, “the reason Netflix will be able to offer the much-anticipated movie in Canada next year — and not in the US or anywhere else — has to do with the timing of when Disney’s pay-TV distribution deals were up for grabs.”
While US Netflix does have a content deal with Disney, Netflix US signed a deal with Disney that will commence January 1, 2016. This means the latest flick in the Star Wars franchise is not included as it will released in cinemas December 18.
Netflix’s chief content officer Ted Sarandos said during the third-quarter 2015 earnings call last week, the streaming company was in talks with Disney about the possibility of licensing past Star Wars movies.
“It’s up to Disney how they want to manage access to those assets before, during or after the release of ‘Star Wars VII.’ So it’s certainly an ongoing discussion,” Sarandos said.
Check out the Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer:
Looks like we’re moving to Canada..