Hacking NetFlix

Another Rumor about Microsoft Buying Netflix

It seems like every month or so there is a rumor about Amazon, Apple, or Microsoft buying Netflix, but the timing of this one is interesting. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings recently resigned from the Microsoft board, and the increasing war for content between Apple, Google, Amazon and Microsoft would make Netflix a strategic asset for any of these companies.

 Eric Savitz from Forbes shares his thoughts on a Microsoft aquisition of Netflix:

While competition has increased, the company still has an iconic brand in streaming video and widespread distribution on almost every conceivable computer and consumer electronics platform: smartphones, tablets, PCs, TVs, Blu-Ray players, blenders. (OK, no blenders.) Microsoft has almost $69 billion in cash and investments. The company could pay 2x the current market cap, and still use less than 10% of the cash. (Although I would point out that a large chunk of that cash is outside the country, and basically inaccessible for U.S. acquisitions.)

Meanwhile, buying Netflix would be in keeping with Microsoft’s revamped philosophy on the Xbox 360, which treats the device more like an entertainment device and less like a video game console. I’d note that Microsoft has a track record here on shopping for Web brands: They paid $8.5 billion for Skype; and of course they tried in vain to buy Yahoo a few years back for an ungodly sum.

I'm wondering if Microsoft would buy Netflix to remove the Netflix service (or limit the features or selection) from Sony, Apple or Google devices to help move people to Microsoft computers, tablets, and phones. 

via Home Media Magazine.

RUMOR: Will Netflix Resurrect Jericho?

TV Guide scored an exclusive: Netflix is rumored to be in talks with CBS to bring back Jericho:

Apocalypse now? TV Guide Magazine confirms that Netflix has approached CBS about reviving cult fave Jericho — and the network, through its CBS TV Studios production arm, is considering it. The drama, which followed the residents of a small Kansas town in the wake of a nuclear attack, has been off the air since 2008. Repeats of Jericho remain popular on Netflix's on-demand service, even four years after the show's cancellation.

The story notes that there are a lot of things to get in order before this deal can be done, like getting the cast together and working out the financial details. But it could happen...

Thanks to Bradley for sending this in.

Will Netflix Save ABC TV Show 'The River?'

Update: Deadline reports that Terra Nova won't be saved by Netflix.

Deadline reports that Netflix is in early discussions to save the ABC show 'The River.'

I’ve learned that the streaming giant has had conversations with The River producer ABC Studios about the possibility of continuing the thriller/horror series on Netflix. Sources stress that the talks are exploratory at this point in the context of a larger conversation between ABC Studios and Netflix. The River never got traction on ABC, finishing its midseason run with a 1.4 18-49 rating for its finale Tuesday. But it is the type of show — a heavily serialized genre series — that works well on streaming services like Netflix. The River‘s Live+7 ratings bump, 36% vs. Live+Same Day according to the most recent available data, is solid though not as high as that of Terra Nova (44%), which also was higher-rated overall. DVR ratings are indicative of how many viewers prefer to “stream” a show on their own timetable instead of watching it the night it airs. 

Thanks to Pat, Keith, Noor and others for sending this in.

Roku's Wood Says A La Carte Cable Coming This Year

Roku CEO Anthony Wood told PC Magazine that he believes a la carte cable TV is coming this year.

So far, companies like Comcast have only made live streaming, plus on-demand content, available on the Apple iPhone and the iPad. To view it, however, viewers must have an existing cable TV subscription. Wood said rumors have circulated that that business model will crack in 2012, allowing customers to sign up for over-the-top rights to the content - cable service, essentially, but without a set-top box.

"I think that's going to happen this year," Wood said. "But there's going to be a lot of hesitancy about who will be the first company to go."

The most likely candidates, Wood said, would be an incumbent like Cox or Comcast. But, Wood said, he didn't have any hard information.

Wood also said that they're working on a way to beam photos from mobile devices to the Roku.

Tidbit from the story: "The five most popular channels on Roku are Netflix, Pandora, Hulu Plus, Amazon, and Crackle, with HBO Go coming in sixth, Wood said."

Netflix Going After TV Movie Rights To Get Movies Faster

The Financial Times reports that Netflix is going after TV movie rights so they won't have to wait 10 years for a movie to be available for streaming.

Netflix is keen to add more, said Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s chief content officer, in a Financial Times interview. The company recently licensed films from DreamWorks Animation, which has a long-term deal with HBO, and documentaries and foreign films including The Artist from The Weinstein Company, which has a long term deal with Showtime, part of CBS.

The agreements studios have with pay-TV channels are typically worth hundreds of millions of dollars per year to each studio. The channels get the films exclusively for the first two to three years: after that the studios are free to license the titles to free TV channels, before the films revert back to the pay-TV operators.

But with free TV channels buying fewer movies and pay-TV operators increasingly concentrating on producing their own original programming, an opportunity has arisen for Netflix.

Thanks to Noor for sending this in.

Will Netflix Save Fox's Cancelled Terra Nova?

Deadline reports that Netflix is in talks to save the recently cancelled Fox sci-fi show Terra Nova, like they did when they resurrected Arrested Development.

I hear that 20th TV and Netflix have been in talks about keeping the pre-historic drama alive. My sources stress that the conversations are preliminary and it is unclear if they will materialize into a negotiation, but for fans of the series left heartbroken by Fox’s decision on Monday not to pick it up for a second season, this is still encouraging news. Immediately after Fox made its cancellation decision, 20th TV made it clear that it would try hard to find a new home for the series and shop it to other networks.

Will Netflix be able to monetize promising shows that can't survive on TV because of their deep knowledge of customer preferences? 

Thanks to Mike & Frank for sending this in.

Reuters: Netflix Already in Distribution Discussions with Cable Companies

Reuters reports that Netflix is already in discussions with cable companies, and might even launch with one company later this year.

Netflix Chief Executive Reed Hastings has quietly met with some of the largest U.S. cable companies in recent weeks to discuss adding the online movie streaming service to their cable offerings, according to sources familiar with matter.

In what would ratchet up its competition with HBO, the talks could lead to Netflix becoming available as another on-demand option for cable subscribers through their set-top boxes, according to three people familiar with the talks. If a partnership came to fruition, a cable operator might offer Netflix as an additional option added onto a subscriber's cable bill, according to a fourth person.

The article notes that a partnership with cable companies might head off fights over bandwidth usage. 

via TechCrunch.

Netflix in Talks with Univision for More Spanish Streaming Shows for the U.S.

The NY Post reports that Netflix is in talks with Univision to add more Spanish-language streaming shows in the US.

Netflix Inc. is nearing an accord to provide US online customers with Spanish-language programming from Univision Communications, according to people with knowledge of the situation.

The deal, when concluded, is expected to include programs from Mexico City-based Grupo Televisa SAB, the world’s largest Spanishlanguage broadcaster.

Report: Netflix in Talks with Ex-HBO Films President About Partnership

The LA Times reports that Netflix is in discussions with ex-HBO Films president Colin Callender about producing titles for Netflix. 

Netflix is discussing a partnership with former HBO Films president Colin Callender to produce original content, including mini-series and movies, for the online video service, according to three people with knowledge of the talks who are not authorized to speak about them publicly.

Should a deal be reached, it would accelerate Netflix's growing resemblance to pay cable network HBO, where Callender worked for two decades and played a pivotal role in its award-winning programming success. He left amid a management shake-up at the Time Warner Inc.-owned cable network in 2008.

If Netflix wants to be more like HBO, working with ex-HBO execs is a great place to start.

Whitney Houston's Bodyguard Not Pulled From Streaming Because of Her Death

When I was asked by several readers if Whitney Houston's The Bodyguard was pulled because of her death, I checked with Netflix PR and was told that it was not true. Unfortunately, the rumor spread, but in fact the title was removed from streaming on January 1st, long before her death.

The rumor was believable is that this is the type of thing the studios would do.