UPDATE: Netflix in talks with ITV after signing exclusive streaming deal for MGM films in UK

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The streaming service will have exclusive rights to many new MGM releases, including The Hobbit prequels

Update 08.11.11

Following its deal with MGM (see story below), video streaming service Netflix is said to be in advanced negotiations with ITV about an output deal.

Such an agreement would allow Netflix to exploit ITV's archive of shows. The US company is also thought to be in talks with Warner Bros in a bid to snatch video-on-demand rights to the Hollywood studio's output from BSkyB.

Other potential deals in the pipeline include a tie-up with Lionsgate and Momentum Pictures.

Published 07.11.11

Netflix has agreed a deal with MGM for exclusive streaming rights in the UK for many of the studio's 'first-run' feature films.

The subscription streaming service, which is set to launch in the UK in early 2012, will be the only place to watch films such as The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: There and Back Again, the prequels to the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Also getting the Netflix exclusive treatment within one year of their theatrical release will be Zookeeper, Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, and 21 Jump Street.

The deal will also mean plenty of films from the MGM back catalogue will be available on Netflix.

Netflix has over 20 million subscribers in the US, Canada and Latin America, each paying around $8 a month for access to on-demand TV programmes and films via a variety of devices.

The service is expected to launch in the UK and Ireland early next year, though there's no word on pricing as yet.

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Joe Cox
Joe Cox
Content Director

Joe is the Content Director for What Hi-Fi? and Future’s Product Testing, having previously been the Global Editor-in-Chief of What Hi-Fi?. He has worked on What Hi-Fi? across the print magazine and website for almost 20 years, writing news, reviews and features on everything from turntables to TVs, headphones to hi-fi separates. He has covered product launch events across the world, from Apple to Technics, Sony and Samsung; reported from CES, the Bristol Show, and Munich High End for many years; and written for sites such as the BBC, Stuff, and the Guardian. In his spare time, he enjoys expanding his vinyl collection and cycling (not at the same time).