The New York Post has reported today that Netflix is prepared to pay up to $100,000 per episode for the ability to stream in-season TV shows, such as current episodes of hits like “Glee” and “The Office.”
If accurate, the move will position Netflix next to Hulu as the premier destination to view TV episodes from current running seasons.
In October, Netflix announced it had signed a deal with NBCU to bring full back catalogs of hit shows like “30 Rock,” “The Office,” and others to the streaming service, as well as a deal that gives Netflix the right to stream “Saturday Night Live” the day after it airs on TV.
Netflix recently began offering a streaming-only service for $8 per month in the U.S., the first time the company has offered a deal that does not include physical media rentals.
The company has spent close to $1 billion on streaming rights over the past years, placing a big bet on the future of streaming.
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Amazon has begun selling TV episodes for 99 cents a piece, just hours after Apple announced that they would begin offering 99 cent rentals on recently aired shows.
Disney and Fox shows, such as “Glee,” “Lost” and “Bones” are now available via Amazon Video On Demand for 99 cents.
When you purchase the episodes, they are yours to keep. You can download them and they never expire. You can also stream them indefinitely.
Shows from other broadcasters, such as AMC, still cost $1.99, however.
The ability to download is only available on Windows PCs and TiVO HD boxes, but you can stream the shows on Macs, HDTVs, Roku boxes and more.
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Later this year Netflix will be expanding their Watch Instantly streaming video service, making it available to Canadian residents.
In addition to being the first service offered by the home video rental giant outside the US, it will also mark the first time they have offered streaming by itself. To date their streaming video offering has been an add on to their popular rent by mail DVD and Blu-ray service.
That’s not likely to be changing any time soon for US customers. When the plan for streaming outside the US was first mentioned last October, CEO Reed Hastings was clear that it was purely due to the logistical issues of shipping discs internationally.
And selling the exclusively online service to Canadians isn’t a sure winner either. Although Netflix has made some headway in licensing new releases and increasing their selection of recent TV episodes for streaming, such arrangements are still the exception.
Canadians interested in the service can go to www.netflix.ca and sign up for email notification when the service launches.
