If you’re hoping to see streaming video of shows and movies featured on HBO via Netflix, don’t get your hopes up.
The cable outlet has decided it won’t offer streaming content to the popular on-line rental service.
The premium network holds cable and Internet rights to films from Warner Bros., Twentieth Century Fox and Universal Pictures and is unlikely to agree to a deal with Netflix’s online streaming service, HBO co-president Eric Kessler told Bloomberg
Instead, he remains focused on making content available online itself via its HBO Go service.
“There is value in exclusivity,” Kessler said. Consumers “are willing to pay a premium for high quality, exclusive content.”
Netflix last week agreed to pay close to $1 billion annually to premium channel Epix in a five-year deal covering online rights to films from Paramount Pictures, Lionsgate and MGM.
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings has said he wants HBO as a supplier, too, after already having reached deals with virtually everybody else.
“We would love to do a deal as well with HBO,” said a Netflix spokesman. “Compete with us or collaborate with us, but we would much rather work with them.”
People won’t pay that much for exclusive content for too long!
Not with other sources available to see the same shows like eventual DVD releases and *cough* bittorrent *cough*.
I disagree Dave – HBO has proven the statement out since the beginning of Cable TV. People *are* willing to pay for high quality, exclusive content you can’t find elsewhere (legally, I mean: people who steal are always going to steal no matter what).
HBO delivers the best entertainment value on television in my opinion and they get my money every month because of it. You cant find shows like Rome, Deadwood and The Wire on any other channel done to such high standards of quality.
My subscriptions to the pay channels went away sometimes in the 90s.
Other than [/i]Dead Like Me[/i], I cannot think of a premium channel show I’ve subsequently watched on DVD, and certainly not any I would pay a monthly subscription for.
Still, I understand the support of the subscribers helps pay for new shows being produced. And pay I would, if any of them were shows I liked.