Fox, Universal strike new deals with Netflix

Netflix subscribers are going to have to wait a bit longer to see “Avatar” when it hits home video - but they will be able to watch "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" whenever they want.  

Fox – along with Universal – have struck new deals with the video rental service that will delay disc-by-mail rentals of newly released films by 28 days. (Warner Bros. signed a similar arrangement in January.)

Netflix, in return, gains permission to stream a wider array of films and television programming online, including all prior seasons of "Lie to Me," "Bones," "24," and "King of the Hill," complete seasons of library TV hits such as "Prison Break," "Arrested Development" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and films including "Aliens," "The Thin Red Line" and "Romancing the Stone" for Fox.

Universal films that will join the Watch Instantly queue include "Gosford Park" and "Billy Elliott" along with library titles including "The Pianist," "Being John Malkovich" and "Do the Right Thing".

The deals go into effect with “Avatar,” which won’t be available to Netflix customers until 28 days after its April 22 release and "It's Complicated," which will be available to subscribers 28 days after its April 27 street date.