Netflix has announced it’s ending its partnership with entertainment network Epix, moving the streaming site further towards relying on original programming.
In an announcement on its blog, Netflix’s chief content officer Ted Sarandos said: “We have decided not to renew our agreement in the US with Epix, the cable network, which means that some high profile movies including Hunger Games: Catching Fire, World War Z and Transformers: Age of Extinction, will expire at the end of September in the US. If you want to see them on Netflix US, now is the time.
“While many of these movies are popular, they are also widely available on cable and other subscription platforms at the same time as they are on Netflix and subject to the same drawn out licensing periods.
“Just like we’ve changed the game for TV watchers by releasing entire seasons around the world at the same time, we have begun making movies that will premiere on Netflix globally and in some cases, simultaneously in theatres.”
The post highlighted some of the original movies coming to Netflix in the coming months, including Cary Fukunaga’s Beasts of No Nation, Adam Sandler’s Ridiculous Six and Brad Pitt’s War Machine.
In other Netflix news, Sarandos has chatted with Tv Insider about the future of Netflix and the streaming sites original content.
TV Insider: You’re premiering 475 hours of original programming in the coming year, including new shows like Fuller House. That’s tremendous growth in three years. What’s the limit?
Ted Sarandos: That’s the $64 million question. The idea that is as long as the subscriber base is growing and the number of hours that people are spending on Netflix is growing, we want to keep pushing that until we get to the point of diminished returns. We haven’t seen yet. The benefits of global scale is finding global storytellers. Narcos is geared toward an American audience, a Spanish-speaking audience, a Latin American audience.
Is the goal to have a new premiere every weekend?
We’re getting pretty close.
You have to market all of that.
A lot of the heavy lifting of getting audiences to the show is done with the user interface. We can launch a lot of these shows without spending any marketing. We can use the merchandising to draw the audience in. Marketing spends we do mostly to attract subscribers to join Netflix. The actual viewing of shows, the user interface is driving almost all of that. So marketing is good to plant a seed in the culture, awards season spending, so we see it a lot different in New York and LA.
