Netflix inks major streaming deal with Steven Spielberg's studio

Netflix inks major streaming deal with Steven Spielberg's studio

The deal will cover multiple new feature films every year.

Steven Spielberg's studio

New Delhi: Streaming giant Netflix Inc has clinched a major deal with Academy Award-winning filmmaker Steven Spielberg for his Amblin Partners production company to supply multiple movies a year.

The new development has come as a shot in the arm for Netflix, at a time when the streaming war is heating up, with a host of competitors including Disney plus and Amazon Prime stepping up the game.

Known for his classics such as E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Jurassic Park, and Schindler’s List, Spielberg will continue to direct and produce movies for Comcast Corp’s Universal Pictures under a different agreement, reported Reuters.

"At Amblin, storytelling will forever be at the center of everything we do, and from the minute Ted (Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos) and I started discussing a partnership, it was abundantly clear that we had an amazing opportunity to tell new stories together and reach audiences in new ways,” Spielberg said in a statement. Amblin produces several movies apart from the ones that Spielberg directs himself. 

Netflix operates the world’s largest streaming service with nearly 209 million subscribers worldwide. "By deepening our ties with Netflix via this new film partnership, we are building on what has for many years been an incredibly successful working relationship in both television and film,” Amblin Partners CEO Jeff Small stated.

Under the deal, Amblin is expected to produce at least two films a year for Netflix for an unspecified number of years. It is possible that Spielberg may even direct some of the projects. Netflix is expected to provide financing for some of these productions, reported Variety.

Recent Amblin projects included 2018 Oscar best picture winner Green Book and 2019 World War One drama - 1917 which won three Oscars and two Golden Globes. Both movies were distributed by Universal.