Hulu And EPIX Announce Multi-Year Deal; Netflix Ends EPIX Cable Deal

(RTTNews) - Hulu and the premium entertainment network EPIX have closed a landmark, multi-year digital SVOD deal that will bring new releases from Lionsgate, MGM and Paramount to Hulu for the first time beginning October 1st, EPIX said On Sunday.

EPIX is a joint venture between Viacom Inc. (VIA, VIA.B), its Paramount Pictures unit, Lionsgate (LGF) and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. Through relationships with cable, satellite and telco partners, EPIX is available to over 50 million homes nationwide.

Separately, Netflix Inc. (NFLX) said that it has decided not to renew its agreement in the US with Epix, the cable network, which means that some high profile movies including Hunger Games: Catching Fire, World War Z and Transformers: Age of Extinction, will expire at the end of September in the US.

"While many of these movies are popular, they are also widely available on cable and other subscription platforms at the same time as they are on Netflix and subject to the same drawn out licensing periods. Through our original films and some innovative licensing arrangements with the movie studios, we are aiming to build a better movie experience for you," wrote Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos in a blog post Sunday.

Meanwhile, EPIX said that recent hits from EPIX, including Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation, Interstellar, Selma, Top Five and The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, which have never before been available on a streaming SVOD service, will become available on Hulu in the coming months.

At launch, blockbuster films such as, Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Transformers: Age of Extinction, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Star Trek: Into Darkness, World War Z, Wolf of Wall Street, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, Robocop, God's Not Dead, and more, will become available to Hulu subscribers for the first time.

Comedies, including Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa, Anchorman 2, and Tyler Perry's A Madea Christmas as well as indie favorites such as, In a World, All is Lost, and Much Ado About Nothing will also be available streaming this October. The extensive collection of popular, classic film titles from EPIX includes franchises such as, the James Bond, Rocky, Star Trek, Paranormal Activity, Beverly Hills Cop, and Friday the Thirteenth films. Epix Original Specials, including Katy Perry: The Prismatic World Tour, Russell Brand: Messiah Complex, P!nk: The Truth about Love Tour, and Jenny McCarthy's Dirty Sexy Funny will also be available.