Amazon's streaming exclusive on 'Fringe' won't last long

As in, it's by the fall. Expect more short-lived deals like one, which Amazon struck Warner Bros., as streaming-video providers battle while Hollywood provides the bullets.

Amazon managers announced today that they have an "exclusive" deal for TV shows, as "Fringe" and "West Wing."

But there are exclusive deals and there are exclusive deals.

Amazon's licensing with Warner Bros. Television for a menu of shows that includes "Dark Blue," "Alcatraz," and "The Whole Truth," is exclusive through the remainder of the summer, to one of Amazon's representatives. These types of licensing deals have typically covered longer , though my film-industry sources say it's not unprecedented. Those sources also say this is the subscription video-on- business is headed.

Slapping an "exclusive" label content is supposed to help Web video services, such Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu and others, differentiate from competitors. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings has said that the players in this sector would vie exclusive programming more and . Both Amazon and Netflix are in various stages offering original content

It wasn't always this . Not long ago Netflix and the other Web services preferred to license on a non- basis.

But how much exclusive content is over specific periods of time is still hashed out.

Netflix, one, hasn't shown much interest in licensing programming shorter terms, according to my sources. How long Netflix prefers to license for isn't exactly , but six weeks was far too brief the company. The sources say Netflix bid these Warner Bros. shows as , but preferred not to pay a premium for such a short of exclusivity.

No that the studios and networks benefit from charging extra exclusives. From their of view, they deserve to be compensated losing the opportunity to sell to multiple outlets.

Subscription video on demand is a new business and the studios, TV networks and Web video services are still trying to figure what works. One source told me that the cable and TV sectors took 25 years to evolve its many iterations. Subscription video-on-demand companies, said the source, appear to be speeding through the same evolution in about 19 months.


Adapted from: CNET, July 20, 2012.