Netflix is continuing its drive for exclusive content by signing a deal with DreamWorks Animation. The multi-year agreement has the streaming video service securing the first-run rights for TV shows based on past, current, and future DreamWorks properties, and will add over 300 hours of programming to the Netflix show catalog.
An earlier agreement between the two companies has Netflix airing Turbo F.A.S.T. in December, a series picking up from where upcoming film Turbo leaves off, while the new programming in the agreement could use characters from current DreamWorks franchises. Properties from Classic Media’s catalog, which the company bought in July last year for $155 million, are also available to use, which includes characters such as Lassie and Casper the Friendly Ghost.
The new programming will begin to be aired next year, and will be available in all territories Netflix currently operates in, though shows could air in the US first before appearing in other markets. Netflix also signed an exclusivity deal to bring Dreamworks Animation feature films to the service in the US and Latin America, which will bring films such as The Croods and Mr. Peabody and Sherman to Netflix from next year onwards.
The extra 300 hours of animated programs will help Netflix bolster its shows aimed at children, and will add on top of current original content efforts by the service, which currently consists of Arrested Development, House of Cards, and the upcoming science-fiction series Sense8.
