Amazon-owned Netflix rival LoveFilm has announced what it’s calling a “milestone deal” with Warner Bros. International Television Distribution (WBITD), that will see a slew of TV shows land on its on-demand Instant streaming service.
From today LoveFilm subscribers in the UK can stream seven seasons of The West Wing, nine seasons of One Tree Hill, all seasons of Nip Tuck, and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles 1 and 2.
Netflix vs. LoveFilm
Today’s news follows six months after Netflix inked a multi-year licensing agreement with Warner Bros. to bring past seasons of popular US TV shows to the UK and Ireland. While that was a significant deal, it was interesting to note that it focused on older content rather than fresher Warner Bros. episodes.
LoveFilm previously signed a deal with Warner Bros. for movies, which was its first streaming rights deal with a major Hollywood studio, back in 2011.
LoveFilm also recently announced a partnership with NBCUniversal International TV Distribution, which saw 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). This followed LoveFilm rebooting its content deal with BBC Worldwide.
Some reports have suggested that LoveFilm Instant is a better destination for movies, with Netflix UK out-muscling the Amazon-owned company for TV shows. So this deal will go some way towards ensuring that LoveFilm continues to grow its content across more than one vertical.
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