Starz's Netflix Contract To Expire February 2012, Taking Over 1,000 Movies With It

If you have any Starz movies you want to see on Netflix, you might want to hurry up and watch them before it's too late.

Starz has announced in a press release that it is cutting off contract renewal negotiations with Netflix and has no plans to fire them back up:

When the agreement expires on February 28, 2012, Starz will cease to distribute its content on the Netflix streaming platform. This decision is a result of our strategy to protect the premium nature of our brand by preserving the appropriate pricing and packaging of our exclusive and highly valuable content.

Apparently, the money just isn't there, and it sounds like Starz is interested in seeing other people. Netflix paid $30 million back in October 2008 to gain the rights to stream Starz films, and many analysts called the deal a steal for Netflix.

Back in June, Sony temporarily pulled its movies from Netflix due to a "temporary contract issue" with Starz. In March Starz announced that Netflix Instant customers would have to wait 90 days before viewing its original programming like 'Camelot.' In January 2011 Starz CEO Chris Albrecht told Bloomberg that his company didn't "need this deal for [their] profitability."

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings told AllThingsD in June 2011 that he's willing to spend as much as $200 million to renew his company's Starz contract; though exact figures from recent negotiations have not surfaced, it appears that talks have permanently stalled.

When Netflix split its services between DVD rental and Streaming in June, it received much criticism on its website from members who found it to have a weak streaming selection; should Netflix now lose Starz films in February 2012, that weak selection will become even weaker. Starz Play included over 2500 movies when the deal was signed in 2008, though Netflix's website currently advertises about 1000 movies in its Starz Play section.

This could be a big blow to Netflix, even by its own admission. In its 2010 Annual Shareholder Report, the company stated that "[i]f we are not successful in maintaining existing and creating new relationships, or if we encounter technological, content licensing or other impediments to our streaming content, our ability to grow our business could be adversely impacted."

Netflix's stock is already down 8 percent in after hours trading as of press time, and its subscriptions might be "adversely impacted" in about 4 months, if it can't figure something out with Starz or another content provider soon.

Netflix has not responded to a request for comment.

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Comments

[riceroni]

11:34 PM on 09/09/2011

It's really a shame that GREED has ruined a good thing for both of these companies. In the end neither care how much they screw the consumer.

[Des0lati0n]

07:41 AM on 09/06/2011

If Netflix loses Starz I can almost guarantee you Netflix will suffer GREATLY. If you stream on Netflix you know there are a lot of Starz shows and movies and it would be critical for them to lose this partnership or to not make up for it.

[Craig Knox2]

09:37 PM on 09/04/2011

Of anyone who watched the linked video, this shows why I hate analysts and dont understand how they justify their jobs.

"Stars has to be at least 40% of their content and 25% of the movies streamed." And Netflix announces it's 9%. And dropping as they've been getting more content not from Starz. Yutz

[Capt Kirk]

11:17 AM on 09/04/2011

Any content from Starz that I watched on Netflix was invariably mediocre and I can't say that it will be missed. I think Starz served a purpose at a time when Netflix needed to flesh out it's fledgling streaming offering, but they've moved past that now. Netflix can afford the good stuff these days.

[WendyLady]

10:28 AM on 09/04/2011

Once my sister and I were browsing in a thrift store and she found this wonderful vintage silk dress. I asked her how much it was and she informed me it was 'too much' at $15.00.
That was when we realised we needed a reality check and a trip to a mall.

I love NetFlix for the documentaries, foreign, indie and expanding BBC library. I am aware that my tastes are a tad outside of the mainstream so NF is a great deal for my wants and needs. It costs less than a movie package on cable and honestly, less than a trip to the cinema.

[farmilyman]

04:20 AM on 09/04/2011

Good........maybe they will lower the price now.

[Cicero Hood]

11:17 AM on 09/04/2011

Heh, yeah... keep waiting for that.

[Dahveed1]

12:06 AM on 09/04/2011

Yeah, Netflicks is a good deal. These movie companies like to screw their customers as much as possible, so a service at $8 a month of all the streaming you can watch is just too good.

So I'll miss the Starz content, but I'm certainly NOT going to subscribe to Starz to be able to watch it.

[Bobby DVille]

10:19 PM on 09/03/2011

Netflix is now like conglomerate corporations, less for more.

[French Toast]

12:16 PM on 09/04/2011

Except that isn't what defines a conglomerate. And Netflix has rising costs.

[LHB58]

03:29 PM on 09/03/2011

The Starz content is the worst content on Netflix. Let them go and spend the money on something else. I dropped cable a long time ago, mainly because of the ridiculous expense of the "premium" channels like Starz, and because I object to having to pay for any Fox media: they should be paying me.

By the way, my price increase was actually on about $3 per month: 8 DVD's + streaming is about $51, which is the bargain of the century at the rate and my crew and I watch movies. My only complaint is that streaming needs a seperate data stream for subtitles.

[gravescanada]

01:59 PM on 09/03/2011

Netflix has opened pandoras box. The Cable companies are TERRIFIED of them. I just downgraded my cable to digital basic. Blockbuster is closing all their stores in Canada. Where are the studios going to release their DVD's? I dont want to buy every movie I watch, and I am tired of spending 5.99 on a movie through my Cable. The studios need to realize that their best option is Netflix, or customers will just download the movie on a bittorent site and burn it or watch it streaming online. Either way, if the Studios dont embrace the new technology, they will die off. Starz should have stuck it out, instead they are going backwards.

[Ramon Moreno]

01:43 AM on 09/04/2011

Starz should go into record-making with their business model.

[smoovejef]

12:01 AM on 09/03/2011

Of those '1000 movie titles', about 50 of them are even worth watching; the rest are barely even 'B' movie material.
Adios, Starz; don't let the door hit you in the a-- on the way out.
On second thought, DO.

[Yehudi97]

10:55 PM on 09/02/2011

Starz.......Yawn..

[elicourey]

10:35 PM on 09/02/2011

non-HD movie titles, who cares!?

[elblanc0]

05:57 PM on 09/02/2011

Wow. Netflix announces new focus on its streaming business...by losing 1000 streaming titles. But hey, at least you can still get the 1979 Linda Blair classic Roller Boogie!! That's worth $7.99 a month!

[StupidityIsGrace]

06:47 PM on 09/02/2011

You can also get the 1973 Linda Blair classic The Exorcist!! That really is worth $7.99 a month.

Sure, there's crap on Netflix, but if you know how to sift through it, you can find the treasure in the trash heap.

[Cicero Hood]

11:20 AM on 09/04/2011

It's Sturgeon's Law: basically, in any given media, art or genre, you can always point to it being 90 percent crap, because 90 percent of *everything* is crap.

[WAY2MCCOOL]

03:57 PM on 09/02/2011

I love how the studios are denying the fact that streaming is the future...they're clutching their dvd's like pearls of an old lady refusing to let go...dvd sales are declining drastically, and will continue to do so...streaming is the only future..

[RevSpaminator]

04:25 PM on 09/02/2011

Not only are studios screaming about dvd sales, think about lost cable revenues. People are scaling back or pulling the plug on cable service to use Netflix instead. That means less subscription income. Even people that don't change cable service won't be spending extra on pay-per-view if they can stream as much as they want for under 20/month.

[StupidityIsGrace]

06:47 PM on 09/02/2011

Help me, Obi-Wan, you're my only hope...