Hacking NetFlix

Yahoo! Latest to be Rumored to be Buying Netflix

The Street reports that Yahoo! is the latest company to be interested in buying Netflix.

Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster said on CNBCtoday that Netflix could be a takeover target for Yahoo, since it is in need of more content.

"In the back of my mind, I wonder if they buy Netflix, that would make a lot of sense," Munster said during the interview.

Another week, another rumored buyer. 

Netflix Rumored to be in Talks for 'Hemlock Grove' Horror Series

Deadline.com reports that Netflix is in talks to pick up 13 episodes of a new horror series by Eli Roth.

Netflix is finalizing a deal with Gaumont International Television for a 13-episode series order to Hemlock Grove, an hourlong thriller/horror series executive produced and directed by Eli Roth. This marks the first foray into television for top horror feature writer-director-producer Roth, creator of the Hostel franchise. Hemlock Grove is based on Brian McGreevy’s upcoming gothic horror novel of the same name, which will be released by Farrar, Straus and Giroux on March 27. Set against the backdrop of our darkest myths, adolescent deceptions, ravenous relationships and rumors of a werewolf, the series re-imagines everything it means to be a monster as reflected in the struggle to be human.

Netflix is starting to act more and more like HBO.

Thanks to FearNo1 for sending this in.

Rumor: Verizon Latest to Be Interested in Acquiring Netflix

Update: It looks like Verizon & Netflix are exploring a partnership instead of a buyout, and The Street updated the story: "But Janney Capital Markets analyst Tony Wible finds a buyout unlikely. "Any buyer has to not only pay $4 billion for Netflix equity, but also has to pay another $4.5 billion for the content obligations that are likely debt. It is far cheaper to buy rights on your own than to buy Netflix. It is also far cheaper to buy Netflix's subscribers for $100 than to buy the company for almost $400 per subscriber." 

The Street reports that Verizon is the latest company to be looking at acquiring Netflix, which makes sense since Verizon is rumored to be looking at a deal with Redbox and Netflix is close to a 52-week low.

Netflix in Talks to Sign Jenji Kohan's New Show?

Nellie Andreeva from Deadline reports that Netflix & Lionsgate are close to signing a deal for Jenji Kohan's ("Weeds") new comedy 'Orange is the New Black.' 

Co-created and executive produced by Kohan and House co-executive producer Liz Friedman, it is based on Piper Kerman’s memoir Orange Is The New Black: My Year In a Women’s Prison and revolves around women in prison.  The book chronicles nonprofit communications executive

Kerman’s year-long stint at the minimum security correctional facility in Danbury, Conn., stemming from a conviction for her part in a drug smuggling and money-laundering scheme she got tangled up in 10 years earlier as a fresh college graduate. Netflix is already in business with Lionsgate TV.

Netflix is starting to look more and more like an $8 per month online version of HBO or Showtime.

Additional Layoffs in the Netflix Customer Support Department?

A source told HackingNetflix that in addition to the recent layoffs in human resources, Netflix laid off a number of employees in the Hillsboro customer support department.

Netflix's main call center in Hillsboro just laid off over 90 employees. This included a training class cancelled in it's second week and all temp employees that did not have required stats. They have also halted any other hiring for the first time in over a year. Management has explained it as they hired a lot of people to cover the internal Qwikster/Netflix split in the call center. Once that didn't happen, and the call volume dropped drastically with the loss of subscribers, the call center had too many employees. 

Netflix in Discussion to Bring Back Reno 911!?

The Vulture reports that Netflix is in talks to bring back Reno 911!

It’s still a long shot, but there’s a ray of hope. Producers Michael Shamberg and Stacey Sher have been in active discussions with Netflix about reviving the comedy, though they caution that a deal isn't yet sealed with co-creators and stars Thomas Lennon, Robert Ben Garant, and Kerri Kenney-Silver. There are other hurdles, too. John Landgraf, the show’s former executive producer and now general manager at FX, notes that Comedy Central owns the copyright; they would need to agree to let the new episodes appear exclusively on Netflix, at least initially. And, of course, there’s the matter of making a deal with its trio of creators. Their manager, Peter Principato, says that talks with his clients are only just beginning, and cautions it’s too early to say whether they have any interest in returning to Reno 911!, let alone whether a deal will be made. “The show is exceptionally cheap to produce,” says Landgraf. "So the financial structure of a deal, which is usually the hardest thing, ironically, may actually be the easiest.” (As of its sixth season on Comedy Central, an episode cost only $600,000, whereas many shows today run into the low millions of dollars.)

There are many shows that failed to get a big enough audience on TV but could do well on Netflix or Hulu. What show would you like to see resurrected by Netflix? 

Amazon - Netflix Rumor Surfaces Again...

It seems every few months a rumor goes around about Amazon wanting to buy Netflix, but the sales tax issue (Netflix has shipping centers in most states) has prevented the deal so far. However, Michael Pachter (I know, I know...) thinks that Netflix has split the company to enable Netflix to sell the streaming division to Amazon. From Forbes:

“Upon reflection, it appears to us that the driver for the separation of Netflix into two businesses—Netflix.com (for streaming) and Qwikster.com (for DVD rentals) —was to position the streaming business for sale to Amazon.com,” he writes in a research note. “In our view, Amazon has always wanted to be in the streaming business, and has been constrained from buying Netflix due to tax considerations. The split up of Netflix’s business addresses the state sales tax issues raised for Amazon in having a ‘nexus.’ If Amazon were to acquire only Netflix’s streaming business, it could triple the size of its content library, and gain traction as an industry leader. Netflix streaming has current content deals that provide it with access to movie content during the premium cable TV window, and Amazon has the financial resources to secure additional streaming rights, including Starz content. Netflix’s financial flexibility is quite limited, while Amazon’s is virtually unlimited.”

Thanks to FearNo1 and Jeff for sending this in.

Facebook & Netflix Announcing Integration at Facebook F8 Developer Conference?

The NY Post is reporting that Facebook and Netflix (Hulu, too) might announce integration features at the Facebook F8 Developer Conference this Thursday.

One source familiar with the conversations said Netflix is also very close to Facebook. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings is on the Facebook board, but because Netflix is a subscription site, is more difficult to integrate.

Movies are high on the list of priorities for Facebook, which already has a partnership with Warner Brothers, which streams movies through the social network.

It's no secret that Netflix is working on integrating with Facebook, but they're unable to launch it because of a law called the Video Privacy Protection Act, which is supposed to pretect a customer's viewing data: 

We’ve made great progress over the quarter on our Facebook integration and we’ll likely launch it before our next earnings report. At this point, we plan to launch this initiative only in Canada and Latin America, as the VPPA (Video Privacy Protection Act) discourages us from launching our Facebook integration domestically. Under the VPPA, it is ambiguous when and how a user can give permission for his or her video viewing data to be shared. A bipartisan group of lawmakers has introduced a simple clarification, HR2471, which says when and how a user can give such permission. We’re hoping HR2471 passes, enabling us to offer our Facebook integration to our U.S. subscribers who desire it.

HR2471 is still in process, so I doubt they'll launch anything on Thursday, but they might announce something.

Rumor: Netflix Heading to Spain & Far East in 2012

Screen Daily reports that Netflix is looking to expand to Spain and the Far East in 2012, after heading to Latin America in Q4.

Following Tuesday’s revelation about Spain the company continues to plot its rapid streaming-only global deployment and aims to be operational in select Asian territories by the end of next year, people with knowledge of the situation have told Screen.

The California-based rental service, with a market cap of $12.6bn and close to 28m North American subscribers, is eyeing a roll-out in Asian markets with robust broadband infrastructure such as Japan and South Korea. 

Netflix Testing New User Interface "Just for Kids"

Janko Roettgers at NewTeeVee received some screen shots of a new Netflix UI designed for kids. Since the "Just for Kids" menu is only available to a few customers at this time, they're probably testing different designs, so this is probably not the final version.

Netflix recently posted a job opening for a Senior User Experience Designer for Kids & Family, so it looks like they don't waste any time when they hire people.

You can see all of the screen shots of the new kid-friendly UI on NewTeeVee.