LoveFilm has announced a partnership with NBCUniversal International TV Distribution, in a new deal that will see on-demand access given to a slew of American TV shows, including the US version of The Office (Steve Carrell) and 30 Rock (Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin).
LoveFilm inked a multi-year deal with NBCUniversal last year with a strong focus on movies, and now the Amazon-owned VoD platform has beefed up its TV show catalogue too, via NBCUniversal’s library.
BSkyB (Sky), the UK satellite broadcaster, flexed its muscles back in November in the subscription TV race, when news emerged that it had signed a multi-year licensing deal with NBCUniversal International Television Distribution for the exclusive TV rights to major new movie releases in the UK and Ireland.
But fret not, with this latest news, LoveFilm will be bringing NBCU science fiction dramas to Britain, including the once uber-popular Heroes, as well as David Hasselhoff’s 1980s cult classic Knight Rider. That will likely be met with mixed emotions.
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This is the latest TV content deal with a major US studio to be announced by LoveFilm, and follows a number of other TV deals including ABC, BBC and ITV, which have helped add to its arsenal of TV and movie content on LoveFilm Instant, the on-demand element of its offering.
Meanwhile, LoveFilm’s German arm will be adding current TV series and older TV programmes from German producer and rights dealer Studio Hamburg, including domestic German TV shows such as Es war einmal…, Die Pfefferkörner, Expeditionen ins Tierreich and Der Tatortreiniger, not to mention international shows such as Secret Diary of a Call Girl, from the UK.
Though LoveFilm – and local rival Netflix – have both been building the TV-show element of their respective offerings, given the relative cost effectiveness of acquiring such content, movies are still very much on its radar too. Last summer, LoveFilm struck a multi-year deal with 20th Century Fox TV to bring its TV shows and movies to the UK.
The film deal starts with titles that were theatrically released in the UK in 2011, and will be made available to subscribers to LoveFilm in around March 2013. The deal will also provide access to older titles in the publisher’s back catalogue.
TV titles from Twentieth Century Fox’s television library were made available from July last year, and included early seasons of Sons of Anarchy and all seasons of 24, Prison Break, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off Angel.
LoveFilm has also previously signed up with Warner Bros back in late 2011, which was its first UK rights deal with a major Hollywood studio.
Feature Image Credit – Thinkstock
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