Netflix will stream Star Wars: The Force Awakens…only in Canada

We are still 54 days from the worldwide premiere of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and today we have some news about who will have streaming rights, when the film is released on Blu-ray/DVD, Digital Download, for rent, and most importantly — streaming. Variety has a piece, detailing the ins and outs of the Netflix deal with Disney/Lucasfilm, and why only Canada will get the streaming rights.

"“The reason Netflix will be able to offer the much-anticipated movie in Canada next year — and not in the U.S. or anywhere else — has to do with the timing of when Disney’s pay-TV distribution deals were up for grabs.”"

According to Variety, premium channel Starz has an exclusive deal with Disney that runs through the end of 2015. Netflix has a deal in place — with Disney — that begins with 2016 theatrical titles. Since Star Wars: The Force Awakens is set to debut on December 18, 2015, Starz will be premium, or pay-TV home viewing option for the movie in the U.S.

There have been rumors that all six Star Wars films would eventually be coming to Netflix, however, those rumors have yet to be confirmed. For now, the only Star Wars material available on Netflix streaming, is Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated movie and The Clone Wars animated series from Star Wars Rebels creator Dave Filoni.

This is huge news if you are a Star Wars fan living in Canada, because streaming The Force Awakens roughly eight months from the theatrical debut — through the ease and in-home comfort of Netflix — is surely a pretty neat deal. I would expect Netflix subscriptions to spike around August of 2016, when The Force Awakens gets released for streaming.

You can read Variety’s entire piece HERE, and I suggest you do, especially if you live in Canada…eh?

H/T – Variety

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