Now that Netflix has pushed many of its Instant subscribers to abandon mail-order DVDs with a 60 percent price hike for the privelege, the pressure is on for the company's library of streamable movies to prove that its truly capable of standing on its own. In a baby step toward that end, today Netflix announced that it has secured a licensing deal with Dreamworks to stream the company's films, including Shrek, American Beauty and Old School.
The deal, expected to go into effect early next year, was won at the expense of HBO, which has previously held the rights to broadcast Dreamworks pictures. While the Stephen Spielberg-co-founded studio definitely has some gems in its catalog, Netflix is still in dire need of filling out the Watch Instantly selection. Last month, Sony Pictures pulled its large library of films from the service over a lapsed contract negotiation, and the Criterion Collection is migrating its classics to Hulu Plus.
