Looks like the movie studios are beginning to realize that Netflix is racing away with the streaming market, and things are starting to change fast: hot on the heels of
Warner forcing Netflix to accept delayed DVD rentals in exchange for better streaming terms, Disney and Starz are reportedly renegotiating their deal, and blocking Netflix is one of the terms. Most new releases on Netflix right now are part of the StarzPlay package, and the studios don't get a cut, since they've already sold those rights to Starz. As we all know, the studios aren't big fans of not getting a cut, so what Disney is trying to do is block Netflix from dealing with Starz and force it to license streaming rights directly -- not the end of the world and certainly not impossible, but a move that has the potential to disrupt service and raise prices. As of right now, things are status quo and no one's talking on the record, but we've got the feeling there's a shakeout coming -- stay tuned.
posted January 15th 2010 6:04PM
Lame!
@vincentmndz
Hey man, can't Obama do something about this...?
@vincentmndz
Obama's to concerned with healthcare to solve the issues we care about...
@vincentmndz. actually not at all. they aren't saying that Netflix can't have the movies. they just want to cut the middle man out and deal directly.
now if they decide to skip netflix all together or set the prices soaring high, that will be lame
@vincentmndz
very lame
If Netflix raises prices again I'm out of there.
@shotta they won't raise prices... They are a "Middleman" and we allll know what happens to them eventually... get out of their stock whilst you can...
@vincentmndz
Disney = EVIL.
Sleeping beauty was a ho.
Yep. Media companies are anticompetitive and don't get the point. Still.
It's back to torrents with everyone if this crap keeps up. Screw you, Disney.
@Nerdtalker
The closest thing that'll allow users and content holders to meet in the middle without no one stealing and the studios want to shoot themselves in the foot.
@Nerdtalker I dont want to steal so I can't us bittorrent even if you don't get caught it is still morally wrong
@Michael Kirschner
Stealing is when you deprive something of the physical good that they own, such that they are no longer in possession of it.
What you're describing is copying, and copying an item you do not have permission from the copyright owner for is copyright infringement.
Of course, it should be seen as no small irony that the same company responsible for extending the length of copyright to an absurd length of time is also one of the companies being mentioned in this article...and I'm not talking about Netflix or Starz...
@Michael Kirschner
Well, most of Disney's product had copyrights that "morally" expired after 52 years -- those were the rules when they were created. Fantasia, for example, should have been free to everyone in 1992. That was the deal and that was the law in 1940.
Instead, Disney bribed Congressmen to take from the public domain and give to Disney, changing the length to 75 years. Then that was a problem and they made it 95 years. Want to bet they do it again soon?
So, morally, who stole?
@kcmurphy88 Disney has been crap for years.....
typical
No!!! The Starz movies are some of the best available for instant streaming.
@Alex they are the only good ones lol
@Alex Yup, time to dust off uTorrent
@crapple
I am not a thief.
@Alex Except that none of them are in HD, which means no sale for me.
If negotiating direct with Disney brings me these movies in HD, then I'm all for it.
yep, the media companies are figuring out IP TV is coming fast and their cable licensing deals are going to fall.
Amen, screw Disney for doing this.
@vegasBimmer. for doing what. for wanting these companies to talk to them directly. that's all that is going on. Disney has NOT even hinted that they don't want their stuff streamed. they just want the deals made with them directly and not with some other company. The only thing surprising is that Starz ever had the power to give the movies to Netflix in the first place. typically those contracts are written to exclude such games.
Maybe Disney would be ok with the deal if they stuck 5 hours of mandatory previews before every stream just like they do with all the movies I've purchased from them and apparently "own".
@moneymark
nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
@moneymark
Agreed... that is the worst. I PURCHASE a physical media disc from Disney Studios and I'm not able to skip the previews. Do you know what the previews on the Toy Story 1 disc are for?? Stuff that's way old and not even relevant anymore.
If I purchase the disc I should be able to skip the previews if I wish.
@Unverified User
Thata what backup copies are for. Plus you can scratch 'em and just copy again.
@(Unverified) +1 its back to VHS days when I actually have to FAST FORWARD the stupid commercials! Only plus side with Blu-ray/DVDs now is that it will stop once it gets to the disc menu...
Disney and Starz are two different companies. How can Disney make it a term of their contract that Netflix has to drop agreements with Starz? Isn't that kind of thing illegal? (look at the trouble Intel got in and they weren't even outright admitting what they were doing like Disney apparently is)
@Ualdayan They probably aren't specifying Netflix, it's probably just in the contract that they cant offer the movies they license through services other than their own.
@Ualdayan
Disney puts pressure on Starz that Starz has to be more restrictive with Netflix if Starz wants to keep getting content from Disney.
I'm not sure I get this. Basically Disney is telling Starz "Screw you, this deal we have? Fuck it. I'm doin my own shit."
In which case, did Starz/Disney pull a Mike Arrington/Crunchpad and not sign a contract? Because if that isn't the case and there is a contractual deal and not a gentleman's agreement, couldn't Starz just sue Disney and tell them to "get in line"? Needless to say either I'm just not understanding the story as a whole, or I don't understand how this is working.
netflix's instant streaming offerings are dismal. i've thought about cancelling my subscription many times. why exactly are the movie studios so stingy about it?
@iName They believe that if you can't stream the movie you'll purchase it or in Disney's case if it's not in production demand will build up and they can release it later at a higher price.
Unfortunately they are missing that this is an opportunity to cash in and prevent piracy. 60 cents or w/e is more revenue than they'll make from a pirated copy. Also that royalty they can earn with every viewing so I don't get it either...
I suspect Disney will hammer out a deal with Netflix on their own they don't seem quite as out of touch with reality as other entertainment companies.
It's the age old case of where media companies feel they're missing out on more money and fail to realize any implications of moving forward with the deal. They think they're screwing Netflix when they're really screwing the customer.
So... let's see. Who is Disney's largest stockholder? The Jobs hisownself. Apple just bought Lala... Apple may or may not be bringing a game changing tablet out in a week and a half... What would make business sense? Oh, hacking off Netflix at the knees so as to channel all that viewership to one's own nifty new service supporting a variety of platforms but in particular a spiffy new portable media platform.
iTunes was Mac-centric at the start, but it while you could play the music on your computer, it was designed to allow the content to pour into your iPod. Disney may simply be pulling out to send people toward something more in line with their longer term revenue streams. Remember they have that cool digital locker system (buy once/play everywhere) they want to roll out too. Would make these who get's to play what when deals superfluous as well.
@stg30rg3
conspiracy much?
@stg30rg3
I give up... Who IS Disney's largest stockholder??
Oh, it's Fidelity Investments with almost 95 million shares.
Who's number 2? Barclay's Global with 69 million shares.
Then: State Street, Vanguard Group, Southeastern Asset Mgmt, and State Farm...
Apple is no where on that list... not even in the top 10. So, what exactly was your point, again?
BTW, here's the list:
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/mh?s=dis
@(Unverified)
Sorry... private stockholder.
@Nicnac
yup. More fun in the wastelands dreaming up conspiracies.
@stg30rg3
There is no such thing as a "Private stockholder" in the sense that you're trying to use it. If you own THAT much of a publicly traded company it is documented and scrutinized by the SEC. It becomes public data that you own X shares in X company.
In fact, DUMMY, the top five "private stockholders" are listed on that same page I linked to earlier:
Robert Iger: 775K shares
Robert Staggs: 225k shares
Alan Braverman: 163k shares
It's all publicly available information. You're just a dummy.
@(Unverified)
Maybe you should look closer at the list you posted, "DUMMY".
It only shows the top institutional, the top mutual fund holders, and top direct holders from form 3 and 4, as in shareholders who work IN the company.
Steve Jobs is only on the Board of Directors, but has 138 million shares, after trading in his 60 million Pixar shares, which is about 7% of Disney.
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/06/05/09/jobs_stake_in_disney_valued_at_4b.html
You'll also notice the list you pointed to does not include Michael Eisner, even though he has 1.7% of the company because he's no longer working there. DUMMY.
@monkeycrackers
You're absolutely right. I was looking for Apple, not Steve Jobs. To the original poster, I apologize - clearly it's me that is wrong on this one.
Having said that, I'm still doubtful that Jobs' 7.4% stake in DIS is enough to suspect conspiracies - it's hardly as if he has a controlling interest in the company.
@(Unverified)
Wow... an apology on a tech site. Accepted.
@stg30rg3
I was having a horrible day arguing with people about religion all day... it leaked over.
Disney so help me, I have a 2 year old sitting here that will never see another episode of Mickey Mouse again. How do you think THAT will support your long term goals? Bitch.
Fargin' bastages! Just 2 weeks after buying a fargin' Roku HD!! Leave it to the suits to squeeeeze the nickels and dimes out of us when there's a decent, economical media provider. Bastages!
@CowBell
Come to think of it, we should blame Reed Hastings (Netflix CEO) for saying 3+ times in the video with Fils-Aime how "for only $9 dollars a month you can watch as many movies as you want..."
Let's imagine some executive screaming, "HEY, that's a lot of potential revenue getting watched for only 9 bucks a month!"
Way to go, Reedy boy. Your salesmanship is killin' us!
http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/15/reggie-fils-aime-wii-users-dont-care-for-netflix-hd/
What does it matter? Isn't Disney moving forward with their "Magic Key" or whatever? Basically if you buy "Cars" on Blu-Ray, you can download it from iTunes or watch it on Amazon On Demand for free, since you legally own a copy of the movie. Eventually everyone is going to flee Netflix. $9/mo for unlimited views? Did any studio actually think about that?
@NetNewsercom
netflix has > 100,000 titles to watch
Let me know how buying them all goes.