Comcast Corp.'s NBCUniversal may pull its movies from HBO Max and Netflix Inc. and keep future new releases for its streaming service Peacock, according to people familiar with the matter Bloomberg News reported Friday.
HBO Max pays to show new Universal Pictures movies about nine months after they leave theaters. Netflix has a similar deal for animated films from Illumination Entertainment - the studio that did "Despicable Me" and its sequels.
Both of those deals expire at the end of this year, Bloomberg said.
However, NBCUniversal's decision isn't final, Bloomberg's sources said.
Both The Walt Disney Co. and Warner Bros. owner AT&T Inc. have made original movies a central part of their streaming services. Disney declined to renew its deal with Netflix years ago - preferring to keep its movies for itself. AT&T is making all of its 2021 releases available on its HBO Max streaming platform the same day they hit theaters. "Both companies are surrendering hundreds of millions of dollars to boost their nascent services," Bloomberg said.
Share market participants are buying paper in companies spending big on streaming services. Shares of Disney have gained about 70% over the past two years as Disney+ emerged as a competitor to Netflix, while ViacomCBS Inc. and Discovery Inc. have both benefited from investor enthusiasm for their growing online investments, even with the recent retreat in their stocks, the Bloomberg report said.
Bloomberg said: "Some executives at NBCUniversal have also discussed a hybrid deal in which Peacock would share rights with another service, as it does with Disney's Hulu on the sitcom "Modern Family." That way, NBCUniversal could use the movies to boost its own service without surrendering all of the licensing money."
