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DISNEY TO SPEND $200 MILLION ON FOUR NETFLIX SERIES: Disney is set to spend $200 million to film four new series exclusively for Netflix. Each series will be based on one of Marvel Comics’ street heroes characters, including Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist, and Luke Cage. The deal will yield 15 hours of content per series. Filming will begin in July 2014 and will take place over three years in New York City. The Disney-Netflix series is the biggest TV or film production commitment ever in New York State, and is part of a broader deal between Disney and Netflix struck in 2012, which makes Netflix the exclusive subscription TV service to distribute first-run movies from Walt Disney Studios. (Variety)
U.S. SENATE HEARING ON COMCAST-TWC DEAL SET FOR SPRING: The U.S. Senate will hold a hearing on Comcast’s $45.2 billion acquisition of Time Warner Cable on March 26th. The Comcast-TWC deal has generated widespread controversy from both rivals and consumers. Comcast and Time Warner Cable are the nation’s largest and second-largest cable TV and Internet service providers, respectively. “The merger of Comcast and Time Warner Cable touches on important policy questions about how Americans access these valuable services,” said Patrick Leahy, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman. (VentureBeat)
NETFLIX IS NEGOTIATING TRAFFIC DELIVERY DEALS WITH MULTIPLE BROADBAND PROVIDERS: Netflix is in talks with multiple broadband providers over traffic delivery agreements. These agreements would likely match the deal recently announced between the streaming media company and Comcast. Verizon and AT&T, in particular, expect to reach a deal with Netflix in the near future. “We’re in discussions with Netflix to establish a more direct connection between our networks, similar to agreements we have with others, so that AT&T broadband customers who use Netflix can enjoy an even better video experience,” said AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel. (Re/code, CNBC)
ROKU HAS SHIPPED NEARLY 8 MILLION UNITS: Roku has shipped nearly 8 million units, including Roku boxes and streaming sticks, according to a recent disclosure from the company. Roku devices streamed 1.7 billions hours of content in 2013, with the average device streaming 13 hours of content per week. Roku is one of the most popular streaming devices in the U.S., according to our recent report on connected TVs. (StreamingMedia.com)
ZEFR RAISES $30 MILLION: Zefr, a company that specializes in social marketing and rights management tools for YouTube, has raised $30 million in a funding round led by Institutional Venture Partners. Zefr counts nearly every major studio and label among its clients, including Paramount, Sony Music, and Universal. (VentureBeat)
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