Netflix and Sony Pictures Entertainment have signed a significant new licensing agreement that gives the streaming giant an exclusive window for the studio’s theater titles starting in 2022.
The agreement, which replaces a production agreement with Starz owned by Lionsgate in 2005, offers Netflix an 18-month exclusive window for Sony movies. Several bidders have been searching for the rights for some time, with Netflix being the winner. Terms have not been officially announced, but according to sources familiar with the matter, Netflix has won a $ 1 billion offer over four years.
There’s some flooding in terms of when exactly the Netflix-exclusive role in each movie will begin due to rapidly evolving theatrical window strategies. Nevertheless, it is confirmed that dozens of top titles stream there exclusively after playing in theaters and being released on home entertainment platforms.
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The slate will kick off with tent poles such as Morbius, Unknown, Where the Crawdads Sing and Express train. Two subsequent windows will allow movies to circulate on Netflix as they reach other platforms on TV and streaming.
In addition to the major movie series, Netflix will also have a first-look offer for any direct-to-streaming titles Sony is considering and is committed to making a number of them, according to the official release, in reality probably just ‘ a couple a year and a minority of the studio’s overall leads.
During Covid-19, the studio decides to sell Tom Hanks’ film Greyhound to Apple TV + while theaters in many areas were closed. Under the new agreement, Netflix would have the first opportunity to release such projects. The two companies have done similar deals over the past few months for films such as the Kevin Hart drama Paternity.
The companies also had an existing relationship through a production agreement for Sony Pictures Animation. The new agreement adds all other labels and genres from the studio.
Selected library rights are also included. As Sony plans installments of franchises such as Spider man, Poison, Jumanji and Naughty boys, Netflix will be able to acquire rights to previous subscriptions. Another notable sequel is a sequel to the Oscar-winning animated title Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
The deal comes as rival studios like Universal and Fox are considering a move that will soon lead to the expiration of production deals with HBO to fill their own streaming pipelines. This is a boost for Netflix, which is still facing investor concern that it has lost major draws such as Marvel and Pixar movies. Friends and The office. It also has very good suburbs for Sony, which has no proprietary subscription service to run, definitely from an revenue standpoint.
“Sony Pictures is an excellent partner and we are delighted to expand our relationship through this forward-looking agreement,” Netflix film director Scott Stuber said in the official announcement. “Not only does it enable us to bring their impressive range of beloved movie franchises and new IPs to Netflix in the US, but it also provides a new source of first movies for Netflix movie lovers worldwide.”
Sony’s distribution and networking chief, Keith Le Goy, said that this ‘exciting agreement shows the importance of content for our distribution partners as they grow their audience and provide the best entertainment.’
Output stores, which have been an economic cornerstone for studios for decades, can earn hundreds of millions for suppliers annually. But times have changed, and the once-formal economy of the pay-1 window has become complicated as so many new entrants have decided to compete with Netflix. Paramount, another studio that sold a number of titles to third-party streaming services before and during the pandemic, re-launched Epix in February. Under the agreement, the premium network will have exclusive rights to the studio’s films before moving to the Paramount + streaming service.
Sony and Starz last renewed their export agreement in 2013, not long after Netflix was released House of Cards and began to disrupt the entertainment landscape. “Even offers from five years ago are not apples-to-apples, given how different the landscape is today,” as one person familiar with the agreement puts it.