Liberty Starz Group
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Starz is about to impose a 90-day delay on original Starz shows before shipping the digital tapes off to Netflix for online streaming. The new policy starts with next month's premiere of Starz drama Camelot, which will run on the premium cable channel first and on Netflix three months later. In the meantime, legit Starz subscribers can watch the show on the Starz Online service, which requires an active Starz subscription.
The move doesn't affect previous seasons of Starz shows, and feature films won't be delayed -- at first. First-run movies will follow suit later.
CBS
That existing agreement creates another angle from which to view the announcement: Starz could very well be using hard-nosed policies as a negotiating tactic. If this hurts Netflix, then the company would be more inclined to sit down at the negotiating table with more generous terms in mind -- just as long as Starz agrees to stop the torture.
Netflix spokesman Steve Swasey makes it sound like that strategy might fail, though. He tells the Reporter that Netflix subscribers don't care much for instant access to new releases, as long as the back catalog is complete. That theory is about to get put to the test as subscribers vote on the matter with their wallets.
Would a Netflix without original Starz shows still be the same customer magnet, or would it drop subscribers faster than a Sirius XM without Howard Stern? I don't watch Spartacus or Party Down myself, so I'm not in the best position to judge. Feel free to discuss the matter in the comments below, though.
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