Netflix nabs a million UK subscribers, promises to 'invest heavily' to outbid Sky for movie rights

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings has threatened a bidding war with UK Broadcaster BSkyB for premium movie rights, and he could have the war chest to back it up -- the company also hit the million subscriber mark in the UK only seven months after launching there. Netflix UK boasted that it even got there faster than Twitter or Facebook did globally, and chalked up the success to most British households having at least one household streaming device. Meanwhile, Hastings said the US company intends to pry premium Hollywood movie rights away from BSkyB, promising to be "really aggressive in our bidding." The streaming service will have to overcome more than money, however -- the UK's Competition Commission granted BSkyB a rights extension to protect it from the very likes of Netflix.

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Netflix nabs a million UK subscribers, promises to 'invest heavily' to outbid Sky for movie rights originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Aug 2012 06:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.