Warner Bros to delay DVD releases

Millions of DVD renters who want to check out Warner Bros' latest movies won't get the chance until nearly two months after the discs are available to buy.
The new restriction will double a 28-day delay on DVD rentals that Warner Bros. reached with Netflix's video subscription service two years ago.
A person familiar with the matter explained the new rules to The Associated Press on Friday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the changes won't be announced until next week.
The person says Netflix Inc. conceded to the demands for the 56-day rental delay to ensure it can still buy Warner Bros. discs at a discount.

Read More - http://www.castanet.net/news/Business/69421/Warner-Bros-to-delay-DVD-releases

Will Netflix vs Lovefilm drive you to piracy?

The launch of Netflix into the UK last week has no doubt left plenty of Brits agonising over which service to go for: Lovefilm or Netflix? Annoyingly, the ideal answer is both.
What I want from my movie streaming service is everything I might ever feel like watching available for me to watch it whenever I want. What I really don't want is to discover that the one thing I feel like watching is available on the one service I don't subscribe to.
Until last week, this wasn't too much of a problem. Amazon-owned Lovefilm had the subscription streaming market pretty much to itself in the UK – sure, you could rent films from BlinkBox and Apple, but that wasn't quite the same.
Now there are two major services going head to head – a bit of extra competition is a good thing, we thought. And when the Netflix launch saw Lovefilm instantly drop its streaming prices, we thought we were right.

Article source - http://www.techradar.com/news/internet/will-netflix-vs-lovefilm-drive-you-to-piracy-1055980

Bloomberg - Netflix A New Challenge Awaiting In The U.K.

Netflix, which continually has to fend off attacks from critics who claim that its streaming service increasingly resembles a second-tier cable channel that offers mostly old movies and television shows, may find itself locked out of new content by many of its British partners when it debuts in the U.K. and Ireland early next year. (A start date has not yet been announced.) According to Bloomberg News, Netflix's deal with commercial broadcaster ITV may not allow it to offer some of ITV's most successful shows, including the hit drama Downton Abbey . And its deal with the BBC will prevent it from airing any of its hits until several months after they have aired. (In the case of the popular car show Top Gear , the wait is six months; Top Gear is one of the most pirated TV shows on BitTorrent and is generally available for downloading within minutes after it is broadcast in the U.K.) Netflix is also entering an online market in the U.K. already dominated by Amazon's Lovefilm and where the major broadcasters already offer their own streaming service.

Article source - http://www.contactmusic.com/news/netflix-a-new-challenge-awaiting-in-the-uk_1279379