Viacom Teams with Redbox: Netflix Loses Epix Exclusivity for New Movies

By Karla Robinson
July 26, 2012

Television shows, older movies and children’s fare have become the staple for Netflix, as Hollywood studios have been hesitant to cut deals on new releases for the streaming service.
However, Netflix has an exclusive deal with Epix, a Viacom-controlled channel that provides the service with fairly new releases from Paramount, Lionsgate and MGM.
At the end of this August, that exclusivity ends when the upcoming Redbox Instant — and potentially even Amazon — will feature Epix movies.
Netflix often touts exclusive rights as a big seller when signing content deals. However, CEO Reed Hastings doesn’t seem that concerned. “Epix is not a particularly large source of total viewing,” he said in an earnings call this week.
AllThingsD suggests this could be a similar situation to when Netflix lost access to movies from Sony and Disney when its Starz deal ended. “Netflix said it was willing to pay big money to keep Starz. But when it didn’t get the deal, it told investors that few people watched the movies anyway,” the article states.
The current Netflix-Viacom deal will remain in place until mid 2015.

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