Netflix’s Killing deal helps prolong the life of the series

Netflix has snagged exclusive UK and Ireland rights to the third season of the The Killing in a deal that has helped the latest series of the Forbrydelsen remake to get made.

The streaming service will make episodes of the upcoming third season available to its subs in the UK and Ireland within a week of their premiere on US cable network AMC.

Netflix will also make the entire second season of the dark cop drama available from May.

It inked a deal with Fox for the international rights and the acquisition helped get the new season of the show over the line after AMC, which transmits it in the US, initially indicated it would not order a third season.

“Our agreement with Netflix played an extremely significant part in the studio’s strategy that enabled us to bring The Killing back for a third season,” said David Madden, president of Fox Television Studios. “We are delighted to be in business with Netflix to deliver Season three, as well as past seasons of The Killing to a broader audience worldwide.”

At the same time, Netflix yesterday announced the Netflix Cloud Prize – a competition that will carry US$100,000 in prize money. This will challenge developers from around the world to improve features, usability, quality, reliability and security of cloud computing resources.

Submissions open this week and will close on September 15. Winners will be announced a month later, with the prize money to be divided across 10 different categories.