NETFLIX TO STREAM NBC UNIVERSAL SHOWS

NetFlix and NBC Universal have inked a deal that will allow NetFlix to stream a number of current and past NBC TV and cable shows.  This comes one day after NBC Universal declined Apple's overture to be on the re-launching Apple TV, fearing the low price would devalue their content.

NetFlix customers will be able to stream Saturday Night Live shows one day after they air and the entire back catalog of SNL.  Also included in the deal is Battlestar Galactica, last season's 30 Rock and The Office as well as Friday Night Lights.  The Press Release below:

NEW YORK and BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Sept. 24 /PRNewswire/ — Netflix, Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX) and NBC Universal Domestic Television Distribution today announced an expanded license agreement through which Netflix members can instantly watch a selection of broadcast series from the NBC television network and – for the first time on Netflix – content from some of NBC Universal's popular cable channels.
The multi-year deal kicks off next week and continues the relationship between Netflix and NBC Universal.
The agreement adds significantly to the growing selection of movies and TV episodes that can be streamed instantly from Netflix with memberships starting at $8.99 a month. Among the highlights, Netflix members will be able to instantly watch:
* Episodes from every season of NBC's signature comedy franchise "Saturday Night Live," including day-after broadcast of the upcoming 2010, 2011 and 2012 seasons plus hundreds of episodes from the first 35 years of "SNL."
* Every episode from the last season of the multiple Emmy® Award-winning series "30 Rock," "The Office" and "Law & Order: SVU," as well as earlier seasons of those shows renewed for streaming from Netflix under the current deal.
* All prior seasons – and eventually next year's final season – of "Friday Night Lights," the small-town drama surrounding high-school football in Dillon, Tex.
* All prior seasons of USA Network hits "Psych," the comedy featuring James Roday as a fake psychic who solves crimes with his best friend, Dule Hill; the drama "In Plain Sight," starring Mary McCormack as a U.S. Marshal in New Mexico; as well as all seasons of "Monk," starring Emmy® Award and Golden Globe® Award winner Tony Shalhoub in the title role. Prior seasons of all three shows are available to watch instantly at Netflix for the first time.
* More than 75 prior season episodes of Syfy's mainstay "Battlestar Galactica," as well as prior seasons of the network's popular series' "Destination Truth" and "Eureka" – all streaming from Netflix for the first time.
"We are very pleased to continue our successful relationship with Netflix," said Frances Manfredi, executive vice president and general sales manager of cable and non-theatrical sales for NBC Universal Domestic TV Distribution, who forged the deal. "We applaud Netflix for recognizing the value of content like 'SNL,' 'Friday Night Lights,' 'Monk,' and 'Battlestar Galactica' to their subscribers." [Gizmodo]