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Miramax Signs On for Netflix U.K. Launch

Peter Kafka in Media on November 16, 2011 at 12:01 am PT

Miramax will distribute its movies, like “Good Will Hunting” and “Pulp Fiction,” in the U.K. via Netflix when the streaming service opens up there next year. Netflix has also recently announced U.K. content deals with Lionsgate Entertainment and MGM. Miramax, which spun out from Disney a year ago, has signed Netflix distribution pacts for the U.S. and Latin America, as well.

Is There a Myspace Mafia, Too? Because Leaving Seems to Have Paid Off for Many Ex-Execs.

Kara Swisher in Social on June 13, 2011 at 11:28 am PT

When the selling of Myspace winds down in the next week or so, it’ll probably attract a spate of comments about what a failure the whole social networking enterprise turned out to be. That is, unless you think of the mob of former execs who have worked at the company over time, many of whom have moved on to some more golden opportunities after leaving Myspace.

Netflix Shatters Pay TV Window With FilmDistrict Deal

John Paczkowski in News on December 1, 2010 at 7:48 am PT

Intent on remaking the cable landscape, Netflix this morning inked another distribution deal, this one with FilmDistrict. Under its terms, first-run films that typically would have been licensed to cable channels for broadcast during the so-called “pay TV window” will now instead go to Netflix for streaming.

It's Official: Epix, Netflix Announce "Multi-Year" Deal for Streaming Movies

Peter Kafka in Media on August 10, 2010 at 4:45 am PT

Epix and Netflix, mum yesterday, are now happy to talk. The two companies have confirmed a big, expensive deal that gives Netflix the ability to show the pay-TV service’s movies on its streaming video offering.

News Corp.’s Fabled Subscription Plans a Month Away

Peter Kafka in Media on May 4, 2010 at 2:56 pm PT

Remember Rupert Murdoch’s plan to convince other media companies to join him behind a pay wall and offer their stuff only via subscription? It’s still around, in some form. We’ll hear more about it in “three to four weeks” Murdoch said today during News Corp.’s earnings call.

News Corp.: Conan’s Not Coming to Fox Just Yet; Amazon’s Ready to Bend on E-Book Pricing

Peter Kafka in Media on February 2, 2010 at 2:41 pm PT

Amazon caved to Macmillan’s demands on e-book pricing, and now the online retailer is set to give News Corp.’s HarperCollins a new deal too, says Rupert Murdoch. Meanwhile, don’t hold your breath waiting for Conan O’Brien on Fox.

Watch Hollywood Crater in a Single Sentence

Peter Kafka in Media on February 1, 2010 at 11:57 am PT

DVD sales are collapsing, nearly as quickly as music sales did over the last decade. Just ask MGM, which saw sales drop off a very steep cliff in just a couple of years. And remember this when you hear talk of Hollywood’s resurgence or the coming boom in 3-D.

Former Time Warner Boss Dick Parsons Gets Back in the Media Business

Peter Kafka in Media on September 16, 2009 at 5:25 am PT

There are very good odds that there are going to be some very big deals happening in the media world in the next year or so. So this move makes a lot of sense: Former Time Warner CEO Dick Parsons is joining up with Providence Equity Partners, the private equity firm with a hankering for media investments.

Now Things Get Interesting: CBS Joins Comcast’s Web TV Trial

Peter Kafka in Media on July 14, 2009 at 8:09 am PT

Yet another addition to the growing list of programmers signing on to Comcast’s “On Demand Online”: CBS will join the cable provider’s trial program, which will allow subscribers to get Web access to shows they get on TV. CBS will join previously announced partners Time Warner, which is offering up programming from its Turner channels and HBO; Liberty Media’s Starz, and smaller players like Scripps, Rainbow and A&E. The twist is that CBS is the only broadcaster to sign up for the trial.

YouTube Preps Its (Sort of) Hulu Answer: Movies, TV Shows From Sony, Others

Peter Kafka in Media on April 16, 2009 at 1:52 pm PT

Here’s Google’s sort-of answer to Hulu: A newly designed page to showcase TV shows and movies, along with new players and a new ad strategy. What’s not included: almost any first-run TV show or newly released movie. That’s the content that’s made Hulu successful and what’s also driven traffic to offerings from CBS and Disney’s ABC. You can’t accuse the Google guys of overselling this: In a press conference today, they described it as a “first step, a baby step.”