That's the message Netflix is sending content suppliers and consumers. Deadline.com reported that Netflix is in talks to acquire Media Rights Capital's drama series "House of Cards," produced and directed by David Fincher, who directed "Social Network." The show also stars Kevin Spacey. According to Deadline, the talks are ongoing but Neflix has already outbid HBO and AMC with an offer in the area of $100 million.
While Netflix won't be producing content itself, it is vying for rights to original programming. Most of the content that Netflix has acquired in the past has already appeared in movie theaters or on TV before. The move comes as several big media companies have predicted that Netflix's supply of top-quality content could soon slow to a trickle.
I was in Hollywood two weeks ago where I met with entertainment execs. The wild growth of the Web's top video-rental service has the film and TV sectors on alert. Netflix grew by more than 60 percent last year. The company's offer to stream tens of thousands of movies for $8 per month has TV and film sector honchos worried about their profit margins, the consumer trend of renting instead of buying, and the growing perception that their content can be had on the cheap.
Nobody I met with said Netflix would be cut off entirely, but the message was that Netflix would receive access to mostly bottom-rung shows and films. The people steering the film and TV sectors, like any supplier, favor buyers who pay the most for content. They also want retail partners that help keep the price and value of their content up. That's not Netflix.
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