CABLE NETS PREPARE TO BATTLE NETFLIX

Cable networks are beginning to recognize publicly the potential threat of video websites that are offering the same content that they have paid high prices for. Speaking at a media conference in Scottsdale, AZ on Wednesday, Turner Broadcasting System chairman and CEO Phil Kent objected to deals between studios and Netflix that provide programs to Netflix at a fraction of the cost that cable networks have to pay for them. As reported by Broadcasting & Cable magazine, Kent told the conference, “We’ve been telling our suppliers, the various studios we buy from, that in the future this is going to have a significant impact on what we’ll be willing to pay for programming or even bid at all.” Earlier this week executives with Liberty Media’s Starz indicated that they are in no hurry to sign a new deal with Netflix, leading one analyst to predict that instead of merely buying content from Starz, Netflix will likely buy Starz itself.