Hunger Games, Transformers Movies Will Disappear From Netflix After Company Decides Not To Renew Epix Deal

You have until the end of September to see Katniss on Netflix.

While there’s always plenty of streaming content to watch on the Internet these days, if you’re a fan of Hunger Games or Transformers flicks, better watch them on Netflix now, while you still can: the subscription streaming service says it won’t be renewing its deal with Epix, the cable provider with domestic streaming rights to those movies in the U.S.

Hunger Games: Catching Fire, World War Z and Transformers: Age of Extinction will all expire at the end of September, Ted Sarandos, Chief Content Officer at Netflix announced in a blog post on Sunday.

Netflix says that it’s working on its own original movies so that members can have access to newer content, because studio licensing practices often mean a long wait to see theatrically released movies at home. In the meantime, the company says it won’t be renewing its deal in the U.S. with Netflix.

“While many of these movies are popular, they are also widely available on cable and other subscription platforms at the same time as they are on Netflix and subject to the same drawn out licensing periods,” Sarandos notes. Basically: we know you can see these elsewhere, so we’ll let you do that and instead focus on pushing our own content.

This isn’t the first time titles have vanished from Netflix after a deal with Epix ran its course: in May 2013, a slew of classic movies were yanked from the streaming service when it decided not to renew a different deal with Epix. At that time, Netflix soothed customers with the announcement that Hunger Games would be coming to the platform soon.

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist