LOS ANGELES – Netflix Inc. has reached a five-year deal worth nearly $1 billion to stream movies from Paramount, Lionsgate and MGM online starting Sept. 1 — a major move that boosts its "Watch Instantly" offerings and makes the studios' joint pay TV venture Epix immediately profitable.
The agreement marks a further push by Netflix to stream movies to homes directly via personal computers, game consoles, Blu-ray players and TVs, and away from its rent-by-mail method. Netflix is trying to get its customers to view movies online so it can save on postage costs. Its shares jumped more than 6 percent.
