• by Gavin O'Malley , Staff Writer @mp_gavin, October 31, 2011

For Netflix and its subscribers, good news has lately been hard to come by. You might call it merciful, then, that Disney-ABC has entered into an extended licensing agreement with the video subscription service.

“The re-up with Disney comes at a critical time for Netflix,” writes GigaOm. “Having popular TV content for years to come could help to keep remaining subscribers happy, and possibly persuade investors that things may not be so bad after all.”

“Locking premium TV content for its streaming service is a smart move for Netflix -- especially after the last few weeks of punishment the company has experienced from both investors and subscribers,” VentureBeat writes. “Netflix is still feeling the pain of its subscription price increases and an ill-attempted plan to split its DVD and streaming business into two companies.”

The agreement also adds the entire ABC show Alias, as well as the ABC Family show Switched at Birth to the Netflix catalog, and ensures than Netflix will be able to stream all seasons of Lost and Ugly Betty.

“Good news and bad news for Netflix,” according to VatorNews. “The good news is that the Disney-ABC group has agreed to extend its licensing contract with Netflix.  The bad news: the Disney-ABC group has just made the same exact deal with Amazon.”

“Looks like the studios are getting the hang of this Internet-distribution thingy,” notes CNet. “Earlier in the year, one studio executive said that part of the problem the major Hollywood studios faced with Netflix and Internet distribution was how to price the content they licensed. The other issue was that many of them wanted to make sure Netflix didn't swallow the entire market whole before any other companies had a chance to start competing.”

“The networks are finding ways to sell the same stuff multiple times, like today’s pacts, or deals announced earlier this month to show CW Network shows on Netflix and Hulu, which (could) bring more than a $1 billion in new revenue to owners CBS and Time Warner,” writes AllThingsD.