Movie rental and streaming giant Netflix has inked a deal with independent film producer Relativity Media that will enable Netflix to offer Relativity films for online streaming during the window of availability currently reserved for pay TV networks like Showtime, Starz, and HBO. Taking on subscription-based cable and satellite services that make some of their money on recent film releases.
Financial terms of the deal have not been released. The first movie covered by the deal is apparently the Christian Bale/Mark Walhberg picture The Fighter, along with Skyline, Movie 43, and Season of the Witch—all of which are scheduled for theatrical release later this year, and will now be available via Netflix within months of their DVD release.
Netflix’s deal with Relativity is a new move for the company: in recent years, distribution rights to films like these are pre-sold to pay-TV networks, sometimes with very long exclusivity terms. The deal marks the first time theatrical feature films will be legally available for streaming by Netflix instead of going first to pay-TV channels.
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