Netflix has just announced a deal with CBS Corporation to license TV shows from the media company for subscribers in Canada and Latin America. Netflix previously signed a two-year agreement with CBS for U.S. subscribers in Februaruy. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
CBS says that beginning in September (for only $7.99 a month), Netflix members in Canada will access seasons for “90210,” (the new one) as well as past seasons for a number of Showtime titles including “Californication,” “Dexter,” and “The United States of Tara.” Canadian members will also have access to shows like “Numb3rs,” “Sleeper Cell,” and “Twin Peaks.”
Last September, Netflix debuted its service in Canada, with license agreements with Lionsgate, MGM Studios, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox and Universal Pictures, as well as Canadian distributors Alliance Films, Maple Pictures, eOne and Mongrel. But CBS was not on that list. Until today.
Netflix, who announced in early July that it would be launching in 43 countries across Mexico, South America and the Caribbean later this year, will offer similar CBS programing to these customers including, “90210,” “Medium,” “Nurse Jackie,” “Californication” and “Dexter,” as well as “Star Trek,” “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” “Charmed,” and “Twin Peaks.”
Clearly this content isn’t new, but it does offer these international subscribers access to TV shows and movies. For Netflix, striking these international deals quickly is going to be key to the company’s growth beyond the U.S., where it already has major deals in place.