Netflix Discussing Keeping Streaming Rights To Disney's Marvel, Star Wars Films (reuters.com)

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: Netflix is in "active discussions" with Disney about keeping Marvel and "Star Wars" films after 2019, when new Disney and Pixar movies will stop appearing on the streaming service, a senior executive said late on Thursday. Disney announced on Tuesday that it was pulling new Disney and Pixar films from Netflix, starting with new releases in 2019. It will start putting the movies on a new Disney-branded online service that year. Disney Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger told analysts the company had not yet decided where it would distribute superhero films from Marvel Studios and movies from "Star Wars" producer Lucasfilm, which the company owns, at that time. Netflix is still in discussions with Disney about retaining rights to stream Marvel and Lucasfilm releases after 2019, Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos told Reuters.

Comments

No thanks Disney

[Anonymous Coward]

Disney makes great movies but there's no way I'm going to buy another subscription and install another app just to watch a couple Disney movies. I guess that means I'll just have to pirate Disney movies again.

Re:No thanks Disney

[mjwx]

Disney makes great movies but there's no way I'm going to buy another subscription and install another app just to watch a couple Disney movies. I guess that means I'll just have to pirate Disney movies again.

The sad thing is, I think we may be heading back into the same situation that Amazon and Netflix are trying to free us from... Cable/Pay TV companies.

There are now so many different streaming services that its starting to make sense to combine them and sell them as a package. The problem is that this will bring back the old rot of trying to force people to buy packages they dont want just to get one damn show.

Re:No thanks Disney

[beanpoppa]

The difference is it's easy to be fluid and switch back and forth.Right now, I can pay $15/mo for a couple of months and watch everything new (shows, movies) in the HBO catalog on HBO Now. Then, I can discontinue my subscription and get a subscription to Netflix for a few months and do the same for new programming that I haven't seen there. Then repeat for Hulu, CBS, etc, until there are new items on HBO and start the process all over.

Re:No thanks Disney

[swb]

What the fuck ever happened to "universal rental", where the entire back catalogs of the studios were available for digital rental?

I mean, you still can't do that now and many of the movies have been available on DVD, so it's not like they haven't had them telecined to a digital format.

Is the black hole of back catalogs just to keep crotchety old men like me from watching old movies and force me to buy into newer content?

Is it *really* "licensing disputes" on 40-some year old movies because the soundtrack or some actor didn't have a clause for digital distribution? I mean, a movie made in 1970, many of the principals are probably *dead* by now. They're not cruising iTunes or Amazon and calling up Sidney Bloomenberg on the phone and bitching they're not getting a cut. Their ancestors are merely happy that a check still shows up once in a while.

Disney or no Disney

[rtb61]

You know what is skulking in the back of this, net neutrality. Disney will continue to supply content to Netflix if net neutrality remains in place and Disney will stop supplying Netflix if net neutrality goes. Disney and the other 5 corporations, will collude with the telecoms to use cabal powers to cut off Netflix, raise it's internet costs to bankruptcy rates and divide the business amongst themselves using anti-competitive collusion to inflate prices and reduce access. This same model to be used to target and eliminate self publishers, either pay corporations a 30% content tax or be finnacially excluded from the internet. Hmm, look at who owns the the 6 US mains stream media corporations and who owns the incumbent telecoms. They know exactly what they are doing in order to force a 30% corporate tax on anyone who tries to distribute content. Corporate taxes are from God and government taxes are from the Devil (just ask any Republican or Corporate Democrat).

Re:Disney or no Disney

[Anonymous Coward]

This is what I don't get about the whole 'save net neutrality' debate.

Everyone keeps arguing for rules/laws to keep the net neutral, but I think that's the wrong discussion to have. It's trying to treat a symptom instead of the disease.

What we should be pushing for is a separation of content companies and internet services.

Because as soon as none of the content companies control the internet, they'll demand net neutrality by default so that their content gets 'fair access' right alongside everyone else.

Any rules/laws enforcing net neutrality after that would essentially become a formality.

Re:Fuck all this corporate bullshit

[GodfatherofSoul]

Something tells me you have been all along

Re: Netflix should bet on franchise burnout.

[Thundercat007]

Netflix doesn't care, they're moving towards their own content. Just ride it out, wait for the next streaming service that'll stream old classics.

WTF? Most. Retarded. Take. Ever.

[SuperKendall]

You know what is skulking in the back of this, net neutrality.

You have gotten some REALLY bad LSD man. You seriously think Net Neutrality has ANYTHING to do with content licensing? You are insane.

With or without the NN rules as they were, all of the companies you mention would be under severe anti-trust trouble for doing what you say - assuming the other cable companies even WOULD go along with Disney, and utterly screw themselves over with customers even worse than they already were.

Your post is the nightmare scenario of tech people brining up the absolute most absurd things as being cured by NN. Next you'll be saying it also cures cancer and bad breath... you are the modern day snake-oil salesman, only you never even had any snakes to begin with.

Re:Fuck all this corporate bullshit

[Mattcelt]

Please feel free to point out the alternatives.