Netflix and Warner Bros. have mended fences over access to new releases of DVDs, according to a new statement released yesterday.
According to the statement: As part of a new agreement announced today by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group and Netflix, members of the online/mail-order DVD subscription service won’t be able to rent new Warner titles on DVD and Blu-Ray until 28 days after they go on sale.
Netflix said they won't send out Warner Bros.' latest DVD and Blu-ray discs until that time has passed. The studio said it generates 75% of its DVD and Blu-ray sales during the first four weeks of a title's release. In return, Warner Bros. will offer Netflix more direct-to-video titles and catalog movies that can be streamed instantly.
Netflix benefits from reduced product costs and better availability of new releases. New releases from all suppliers account for about 30 percent of Netflix shipments.
The pact resolves an issue that arose this summer when Warner Bros. issued a statement that said that the company would institute a wait period of four weeks on new-release rentals at DVD rental kiosk companies (like Redbox) and apply the same rules to mail-order subscription companies (like Netflix) unless a new revenue-sharing option was agreed upon.
Warner’s starts its new Netflix policy with two titles hitting the rest of the rental community Jan. 19: "The Invention of Lying,” starring Ricky Gervais and "Whiteout,” starring Kate Beckinsale.
Netflix begins offering those titles Feb. 16.
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