HBO Inks Ten-Year Deal With Universal – Netflix Has Serious Competition

by Joe Tranchina
January 7, 2013 at 5:40 pm

HBO “Game of Thrones”

HBO has inked a ten-year deal with Universal Pictures and Focus Films to exclusively host their content both on their premium television network and via HBO GO, the network’s online viewing source. What this means is that digital distributors, such as Netflix, will not be able to buy or sell access to any of Universal Pictures’ films. For a while, HBO was very successful merely in cutting out an untouchable niche with regard to its own content. Now, the network’s programs remain fortified and additional content it being locked up tight, as well.

As told by a spokesperson to TechCrunch, “yes, it is exclusive. Netflix can’t touch it.”

This is just like playing HBO’s own Game of Thrones; for control over movies and T.V. as opposed to a big iron chair.

This deal was made on the heels of Netflix’s own partnership with Disney, and other recent deals inked by HBO with Fox, Warner Bros, and Summit. The deal is important because, up until now, Netflix hasn’t had any true competition at all. Blockbuster tried and failed. As a Netflix user, I can tell you that the only time Netflix fails me is when I’m forced to turn to HBO GO for its exclusive content. For the moment, this means HBO original series. This has become a surprisingly frequent situation as it is. This new deal means that HBO has become a true opposition to Netflix. If online/ mobile device viewing is the future (and the present, mostly) then HBO just made things very interesting. As put by Forbes, once HBO inevitably breaks from subscription television, things will get even more interesting.

Read the full article on TechCrunch