As the battle for movie rentals wages on, Netflix has struck a huge blow against their competition. In a deal with Dreamworks, Netflix will begin streaming a huge catalog of titles and create new original animated series based on various franchises like TURBO. Currently, Netflix licenses these shows from the network that airs them (Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network) but will now get them directly from the studio.
As Netflix branches into original programming, this move solidifies them in another demographic. HOUSE OF CARDS, ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT, and HEMLOCK GROVE are adult-oriented while these new animated series will appeal to children and teenagers. Dreamworks recently acquired a massive library of cartoons from Classic Media that includes Casper the Friendly Ghost, Voltron, He-man, Gumby, Felix the Cat, and many more. This new deal with Netflix could potentially include those titles. This would be a very lucrative deal for both sides while also giving Netflix a competitive advantage with exclusive releases from the Dreamworks feature animated film division.
TURBO will be the first title to get a series on Netflix titled F.A.S.T. but no premiere date is slated. Netflix recently lost the rights to Viacom titles for streaming so this is a very nice replacement for them.
TURBO opens everywhere on July 17 and will premiere on Netflix next year.