Netflix renews streaming deal with ABC

By Andrew Couts October 31, 2011

Netflix announced today that it will continue to offer its streaming customers shows from the Disney-ABC Television Group, which includes ABC Studios, Disney Channel and ABC Family. Additional shows from these networks will also be added to the Netflix lineup as part of the renewal deal.

According to the streaming agreement, episodes from the new seasons of shows currently being aired on the Disney-ABC channels will be available to Netflix customers 30 days after the last episode of that season airs on its original channel.

Additional episodes from the following series will be added to the Netflix library:

• “Lost”
• “Desperate Housewives”
• “Grey’s Anatomy”
• “Private Practice”
• “Ugly Betty”
• “Brothers and Sisters”
• “Army Wives”
• “The Secret Life of the American Teenager”
• “Melissa & Joey”
• “Make It or Break It”
• “Phineas and Ferb”
• “Good Luck Charlie”
• “The Suite Life on Deck”
• “Hannah Montana”
• “Switched at Birth”
• “Kick Buttowski”
• “Alias”

Any addition of new, quality content is good news for Netflix, which is struggling to breath strong growth into its business amidst a lingering air of souring public option that follows a series of damaging missteps. According to its recent third quarter financial earnings report, Netflix lost about 800,000 customers after the company decided to increase the price of receiving both streaming and DVD-by-mail rentals by about $6 a month, and then announced that it would be splitting off its DVD rental business entirely from Netflix and renaming it Qwikster.

While the price hike remains intact, the Qwikster plans have been scrapped, and the company’s streaming and DVD rental businesses will remain under the Netflix brand.

Despite its hardships and public relation screw-ups, Netflix remains wildly popular, with about 23.8 million subscribers worldwide (21.5 million of which subscribe to the streaming option). Netlfix also recently launched in many countries across Latin America, and has plans to launch in the UK and Ireland next year.

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