LOS ANGELES, June 22 — US TV network The CW (of Arrow and Jane the Virgin) has been on the up and up over the past few years, and is tying up a streaming deal with Netflix that is both good news and bad news for fans of the network’s shows.
Scripted series will be available within two weeks of each season’s finale, which represents a significant cut in comparison to the usual month-long wait for complete season streams carried by on-demand services.
On the other hand, it’s being seen as the result of The CW opting not to renew an ongoing partnership with video on-demand service Hulu, which has been making its name as a next-day destination.
While limiting availability to the five most recent episodes, Hulu had been able to post up new episode streams the next day after broadcast via The CW itself.
Since 2012, The CW has been revitalized by a slate of programming that includes Arrow as well as its DC Universe siblings The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow and, following a switch from co-owner CBS for October’s second season, Supergirl.
Comedy dramas Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and Jane the Virgin have also attracted critical acclaim, each having won a Golden Globe.
Just as Jane the Virgin was based on a Venezuelan telenovela, the upcoming series No Tomorrow also looks to South America — this time Brazil — for inspiration.
Similarly, Containment took Belgium’s Flemish drama Cordon and its tale of an unfolding, contemporary apocalypse and transplanted it to Atlanta, Georgia, in a single-season run.
And the network is now expanding beyond DC for its comic book adaptations, with Riverdale to leverage Archie Comics; magician show Masters of Illusion is on its fifth season, while the most recent showrunner on The CW’s longest running series, Supernatural, is also remaking 2000 sci-fi thriller Frequency in an episodic format for the network.
And if these shows helped Netflix and The CW reach a deal that could be worth upwards of US$1 billion (RM4.03 billion) over five years (as Variety reports), it could also help the network bring in traffic via its own app and website, CWTV.com, which will become one of the venues for in-season streaming. — AFP-relaxnews
