France’s Orange won’t carry Netflix
French telecoms operator Orange has said that it won’t carry Netflix’s service on its set-top boxes when the streaming service launches in France this autumn.
Read moreAuthor: Liz Shackleton
Nine takes 8% stake in Quickflix
Australian broadcaster Nine Entertainment Co (NEC) has acquired HBO’s 8% stake in local DVD rental and VOD operator Quickflix. NEC is understood to have paid just under $1m for all of HBO’s redeemable preference shares in Quickflix. Simon Kelly, NEC’s chief operating officer, told The Australian that the shares were an opportunistic financial investment and declined to comment on whether
Read moreNetflix hits 50m global subscribers
Netflix added 1.69 million subscribers in the second quarter of 2014 to reach a total of 50.05 million worldwide, the company announced in a quarterly earnings call. More than 70% of subscribers, or 36.2 million, are in the US, while the number of international subscribers hit 13.8 million.
Read moreOne Chance to debut on Yahoo Screen
Following its VOD success with Snowpiercer, The Weinstein Company (TWC) is releasing UK comedy Once Chance exclusively through Yahoo Screen 10 days before its theatrical release. The movie will be available to Yahoo Screen customers for free – a release strategy aimed squarely at younger viewers who are more likely to watch it on a computer screen. TWC has set
Read moreiQiyi launches film production outfit
Chinese online video platform iQiyi is launching a film company, iQiyi Films, which it claims will develop a new internet-oriented business model for film production. The new outfit, unveiled at a press conference in Beijing on Thursday, will produce eight films a year, including seven domestic films and one Hollywood movie.
Read moreDisney, Netflix sign Canada pay-TV deal
Netflix and Walt Disney Studios have signed a multi-year deal that gives Netflix exclusive Canandian subscription TV rights to Disney’s first-run live action and animated features. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Beginning in 2015, Netflix Canada subscribers will be offered theatrically released films from Disney Live Action, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm,
Read moreXbox quits original programming
Microsoft has confirmed it’s shutting down Xbox’s original programming arm, Xbox Entertainment Studios, as the division refocuses on its core video gaming business. Phil Spencer, head of Xbox and Microsoft Studios, confirmed the move today, although he added that the company would continue with projects already in production. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, who took over from Steve Ballmer in February,
Read moreLionsgate, Alibaba form streaming joint venture
US mini-studio Lionsgate and Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba have joined forces to launch Lionsgate Entertainment World (LGEW), a subscription streaming service for mainland China.
Read moreSouth Park signs exclusive deal with Hulu
Hulu has signed a three-year deal with the creators of South Park which makes Hulu Plus the exclusive streaming home of the animated series.
Read moreEurope home to 3,000 VOD services
Netflix faces heavy competition as it prepares to roll out across Europe as the number of on-demand services has already topped 3,000, according to a report from the European Audiovisual Observatory.
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