Netflix May Distribute Orginal Series

Netflix NFLX, the movie rental company, is reportedly in advanced talks to distribute an original television series
directed by David Fincher and starring Kevin Spacey, a move that would further spark the effort by Netflix to compete premium television channels.

Netflix could pay may more than $100 million for 26 episodes of the political drama "House of Cards," which is based on a British miniseries, according to Deadline.com. A person familiar with Netflix's plans said the company is likely to pay much less than that, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Netflix is angling to be the first outlet to broadcast "House of Cards," but the series could later be broadcast by other outlets or sold as a DVD series, the Journal reported.

The effort to procure "House of Cards" highlights Netflix's bid to take the fight to other home entertainment providers by providing original content through the Netflix streaming service, which allows subscribers to access content anywhere at anytime.

Netflix has previously opted to keep costs to a minimum by featuring older movies and TV shows, but competitors have made a point of highlighting the fact that they get access to new content before Netflix does. Netflix had over 20 million subscribers at the end of last year.

Research firm NPD Group said on Tuesday Netflix accounted for 61% of all digital movie watching—including streaming of rented movies over the Internet, purchases through Apple's AAPL iTunes and cable video on demand services—in January and February, the Journal reported.