Gaps in Netflix's online library likely to persist | Netflix No

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LOS GATOS, Calif. ? Peruse Netflix?s catalog of DVDs, and you?ll find just about any movie or TV series you want. Look for many of the same titles in Netflix?s Internet video library, and prepare to be exasperated.

It?s a problem that Netflix is unlikely to solve anytime soon. Despite an expensive expansion, Netflix?s online video selection remains inferior. Netflix offers more than 60,000 titles that can be viewed on Internet-connected devices, while its DVD-by-mail service has more than twice that ? some 140,000.

Competitive tensions and Netflix?s own financial limitations account for the huge disparity.

No matter how much Netflix Inc. is willing to pay for the rights, some online video remains off-limits.

Major movie studios are refusing to license the rights to most of their latest movies at the same time they?re released on DVDs. Premium cable channels such as HBO and Showtime also are withholding their most popular series, including ?Game of Thrones? and ?Dexter,? because they are worried about losing subscribers if the content is available on Netflix?s less expensive Internet service.

The mere $8 per month that Netflix charges for unlimited online viewing is one of the main reasons the service has attracted more than 23 million streaming subscribers, out of a total of 26 million. The expanding audience, in turn, is causing studios to demand higher fees for video that they are willing to license to the company.

Studios know Netflix is getting a bargain, says Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter. Netflix?s streaming subscribers watch an average of 30 hours of Internet video each month, which works out to just 27 cents per hour.

The Internet video library already is far more appealing than it was five years ago, when it opened with just 2,000 titles ? mostly obscure TV series and movies that many subscribers had seen years ago.

The streaming catalog now features recent seasons of many acclaimed TV shows, including ?Mad Men? and ?The Office,? and exclusive series such as ?Lilyhammer.? Coming attractions include ?The Artist,? winner of this year?s Oscar for best picture, and another original series called ?House of Cards? starring Academy Award-winning actor Kevin Spacey. Netflix also has struck a deal to revive the critically acclaimed TV series, ?Arrested Development,? which last aired in 2006.

Article source: http://www.delawareonline.com/viewart/20120411/BUSINESS10/120410060/Gaps-Netflix-s-online-library-likely-persist?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CBusiness%7Cs

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