Netflix and DreamWorks Animation Make Streaming Deal

Jeffrey Katzenberg tells the New York Times, “It’s a game-changing deal”

Netflix and DreamWorks Animation have signed a streaming deal, the New York Times reports. 

The pact has been rumored for weeks, but The Times quotes DWA chief Jeffrey Katzenberg as calling the move, "a game-changing deal." 

Spokespersons for the two companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment. 

The Times puts the price tag at $30 million per picture and says the deal is a multi-year arrangement. 

For both companies it's a rare piece of good news after months of being pummeled by analysts, shareholders, and, in the case of Netflix, customers. 

Also read: Dish Unveils Blockbuster Movie Pass — Are You Sweating Yet, Netflix?

Netflix's decision to raise prices and split off its DVD by mail service into a separate subsidiary christened Qwikster has been greeted with outrage among its subscribers. 

At the same time, the digital giant faces increased competition in the video streaming space it helped revolutionize.

On Friday, Dish Network unveiled its own bid for streaming dollars, Blockbuster Movie Pass. However, the satellite company's decision to limit the service and its thousands of titles to Dish subscribers made it less of a threat than Netflix might initially have feared. 

As for DreamWorks, its share price has been shelled throughout much of the summer following Paramount's decision to walk away from its distribution pact with the studio and the weaker than expected domestic performance of "Kung Fu Panda 2." 

Like a similar initiative with Chinese company Youku, the pact with Netflix seems to be an attempt by Katzenberg and his team to find digital dollars to replace those lost to the decline of the DVD sector. 

For Netflix, it represents an effort to bolster its streaming library and, in particular, its family titles after Starz decided not to renew its deal with the company, taking with it films from Disney. 

The new deal with Netflix kicks off in 2013. 

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