Netflix: A History of Change
Netflix (NFLX) has been shaking up its content library. Instead of trying to provide all things to all viewers, it's being more selective. Here is a recent history of some of the biggest losses and additions.
February 2012: Ends deal with movie distributor Starz covering films from Disney (DIS) and Sony (SNE). Cuts range from old classics like Scarface and Young Frankenstein to newer hits like Big and Toy Story 3.
Netflix notes it added full seasons of TV series like Mad Men, Breaking Bad and Lost. The company struck a new deal with Disney (see below).
September 2012: Netflix ends deal for dozens of shows from the A&E Network and its various channels. Losses include Storage Wars, Pawn Stars and Hoarders. In January, 2013, Amazon (AMZN) signed a deal with the network to add many of the shows to its service.
December 2012: A new deal with Disney immediately adds library movie titles like Dumbo, Alice in Wonderland and Pocahontas. New releases start in 2016 -- Star Wars VIII, anyone?
May 2013: Loses almost 2,000 older movies from distributor Epix, including James Bond classics Dr. No and Goldfinger.
Netflix says it added 500 new movies at the same time, such as Hunger Games, Safe and Mission Impossible II.
June 2013: Ends deal with Viacom, cutting programs from its kids channel Nickelodeon, such as Dora the Explorer, Blue’s Clues and SpongeBob SquarePants, and Comedy Channel classics like South Park. Viacom shifts to Amazon.
Netflix strikes deal with Dreamworks Animation (DWA) for brand new kids shows -- 300 hours worth of original programming. New shows will draw on Dreamworks' stable of new and old cartoon characters, from Shrek and The Croods to Casper the Friendly Ghost, Lassie and Mr. Magoo.