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17 Apr Netflix Says It’s Open to Acquisitions, Stays Mum on Rumored Targets [Variety]

Posted at 13:10h in Industry News, Latest News

By Andrew Wallenstein April 16, 2018 | Don’t let Netflix’s quiet M&A track record fool you: The company is open to making the right deal, according to top execs who discussed that prospect in an appearance on the streaming service’s pre-taped discussion following its earnings report Monday. Though the Los Gatos, Calif.-based company has made only one acquisition in its 20-year history — comic-book publishing company Millarworld — Netflix chief...

Breaking Bad is one of the top licensed shows on Netflix.

12 Apr Netflix Licensed Content Generates 80% of U.S. Viewing, Study Finds [Variety]

Posted at 13:00h in Industry News, Latest News

By Todd Spangler April 12, 2018 | Netflix is spending a pretty penny on original entertainment — but while that stuff grabs most of the headlines, it’s actually licensed titles like TV show reruns that still form the core of the company’s streaming business. That’s according to a data analysis from 7Park Data, which found that 80% of Netflix U.S. viewing is from licensed content with...

10 Apr Disney Tries Again To Block Redbox’s Sale Of Download Codes As It Prepares for ‘Black Panther’ [Deadline]

Posted at 13:02h in Latest News, Member News

By Dawn C. Chmielewski April 9, 2018 | Disney is trying again to prevent Redbox from selling digital download codes for its movies after a federal judge rejected its initial request for an injunction that would have halted the practice. The Burbank entertainment giant filed an amended complaint today with U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, saying its made changes to its online license agreements to address the judge’s concerns that...

05 Apr Inside Amazon’s $250M ‘Lord of the Rings’ Deal: “It’s Very Much a Creature of the Times” [THR]

Posted at 21:51h in Industry News, Latest News

By Tatiana Siegel April 5, 2018 | Nearly 45 years after his death, J.R.R. Tolkien scored the biggest Hollywood deal of 2017. Since the British author doesn't return phone calls anymore, it took a phalanx of lawyers and dealmakers to bring to fruition what is poised to be the most expensive TV show ever. On Nov. 13, Amazon Studios beat out Netflix for...

Image from American Horror Story on Netflix

04 Apr TV’s First $300M Man: Ryan Murphy’s Blockbuster Netflix Deal [THR]

Posted at 15:10h in Industry News, Latest News

By Lacey Rose April 4, 2018 | When Ryan Murphy arrived at the Hollywood headquarters of Netflix on a stormy afternoon in January, the 53-year-old producer of such TV breakouts as Glee, The People v. O.J. Simpsonand seven installments of American Horror Story says he was expecting a tour of the streaming giant's luxe new space and "maybe a croissant." But coming in out of the rain,...

01 Apr Danny Kaye on Fox Innovation Lab’s Commitment to ‘Best Possible Viewing Experiences’

Posted at 12:49h in Blog, Latest News, Member News

(Above, Danny Kaye accepts Fox Innovation Lab's induction into the Variety Home Entertainment & Digital Hall of Fame, with Ericsson's Mark Russell. Photo credit: Chelsea Lauren/Variety/REX/Shutterstock) BY GREG TARR SPECIAL TO DEG Danny Kaye, executive VP and managing director for Fox Innovation Lab, is on a mission to help content creators put their work in front of consumers on as many screens as possible,...

The Ava DuVernay doc 13th bowed on Netflix streaming.

26 Mar Steven Spielberg Says Netflix Movies Shouldn’t Win Oscars, Warns TV “Poses Clear And Present Danger To Filmgoers” [Deadline]

Posted at 17:02h in Industry News, Latest News

By Dade Hayes March 25, 2018 | In an interview with ITV News, Spielberg noted that the movie business has never faced more of a challenge from television, especially given the rise of Netflix and other streamers. While there are benefits from that to the overall culture, he said features launched on streaming platforms should not be allowed at the Oscars...

Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee is a shortform video hit

23 Mar Can the Shortform Video Market Make a Comeback? [THR]

Posted at 13:08h in Industry News, Latest News

By Natalie Jarvey March 23, 2018 | Hollywood's digital producers have turned their attention to a new crop of potential buyers with even deeper pockets: Netflix, Amazon and Hulu. In recent months, the major streamers have experimented with shortform video show formats and lengths, whether through Amazon's deal (through its Video Direct self-distribution division) to fund Funny or Die-produced short films or Netflix's...

No Postage Necessary will be distributed using blockchain technology.

20 Mar Blockchain: Media Is Embracing Decentralization [Variety]

Posted at 12:15h in Industry News, Latest News

By Janko Roettgers March 20, 2018 | Jeremy Culver thinks he’s found a secret weapon to bring his next movie to the masses. “No Postage Necessary,” a romantic indie comedy coming this June, will be the first film to be to be released with the help of blockchain technology. Viewers will be able to buy the film through the video app Vevue, and pay...

AT&T's Fight to Buy Time Warner Could Affect Streaming of Content Like HBO's Game of Thrones.

19 Mar AT&T’s fight to buy CNN, HBO could affect how you stream TV and movies [USA Today]

Posted at 19:08h in Latest News, Member News

By Mike Snider March 18, 2018 | AT&T's fight to buy Time Warner — home to DC Comics heroes Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman, as well as HBO's Game of Thrones and CNN — heads to a high-stakes throw-down with the Trump administration in the quieter confines of a Washington, D.C., courtroom Monday. The stakes are high for AT&T and could change how viewers watch...