Netflix To Stream Showtime's 'Dexter'

Keeping the focus on content, Netflix just roped CBS Corp. into a licensing deal to carry all eight seasons of the Showtime series “Dexter.”
 
In a nod to the scary drama -- which chronicles the complex life of a serial killer -- Netflix plans to debut its first four seasons on Halloween day. (Seasons five through eight are slated for release on the first day of the new year.)
 
“We’re thrilled to have ‘Dexter,’ Ted Sarandos, chief content officer for Netflix, stated.
 
Netflix is on fire, which is remarkable considering that analysts were writing the content platform’s obituary for flubbing its transition from mail-to-digital delivery in 2011.
 
Boasting 31 million domestic subscribers, Netflix’s third-quarter earnings report sent investors into an excited tizzy last week. Having witnessed such euphoria before, however, CEO Reed Hastings, at the end of his investment letter, Hastings said: “We do our best to ignore the volatility in our stock.”
 
No small feat, however, the growth helped Netflix surpassed HBO in subscribers (for the first time) in the first quarter of 2013.
 
Syndication deals now fall at the shallow end of Netflix’s content strategy. Indeed, the company recently established itself as a bona fide purveyor of original, premium programming by taking home three Emmys for its Web-based series "House of Cards."
 
Partnering with the makers of "Shrek" and "Kung Fu Panda," Netflix announced a multi-year deal with DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. this summer. At the time, DreamWorks said the deal -- which was said to encompass 300 hours of new programming -- would underpin a major initiative to expand its production and distribution efforts.
Next story loading loading..