MUMBAI: Netflix, the online DVD rental service, has struck a 28-day release window pact with Sony in which it has agreed to withhold renting of the studio’s DVDs to its subscribers until a month after they are on the shelves.

The arrangement will not impact all Sony releases; instead, the studio will pick and choose which films will be delayed.
 
Netflix recently signed similar agreements with Warner Bros., Universal and Fox. While the online DVD rental company will see its access to DVD releases reduced in the deals, the terms of such agreements call for each studio to reduce licensing fees to be paid by Netflix as well as increase the number of their titles Netflix can offer to its subscribers through Instant Streaming.

In exchange for agreeing to honour the release window for other studios, Netflix has received rights to stream more of their catalogue titles. It will also pay less for the films it streams and for the new releases it rents after the 28-day window elapses.
 
Though the new pact became apparent with this week‘s DVD and Blu-ray release of Sony‘s The Karate Kid, the DVDs of the film would not be available for rental through Netflix until 2 November.
In the past, Sony has allowed rental companies like Netflix and Redbox to rent its movies on the same day they hit store shelves.