Netflix reportedly offered Microsoft $500 million for seven years of exclusive film and TV adaptation rights to Xbox games, but negotiations stalled. According to Matthew Belloni's What I'm Hearing newsletter at Puck, the offer came from Bela Bajaria, Netflix's chief content officer at the time. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma and her business affairs team allegedly countered at $800 million. Bajaria was recently let go and is being replaced by former Disney and Fox executive Peter Rice, and with her departure, the Netflix offer is said to be off the table. Netflix CFO Spence Neumann was reportedly among those who thought the price was too high.
Netflix has not commented on the deal, while Xbox told Puck it has seen "record-breaking interest" in its IP and still considers Netflix a valued partner. The two already have Minecraft and Diablo animated series on the way, and Netflix is also working on a Gears of War movie.
Instead of one big exclusive package, Xbox is now said to be chasing smaller deals with more partners, aligning with its newly launched XP division. That extra licensing revenue would likely be welcome as Xbox has missed Microsoft's executive pay target for the fifth time in six years, just lost its first chief operating officer, and faces pressure from CEO Asha Sharma's warning that the division won't survive without new IP. Peter Rice is also expected to pursue additional IP deals at Netflix, suggesting renewed talks between the companies may be on the horizon.
Source: TechPowerUp News · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing