In a deal with premium cable channel Starz, Netflix will now be able to offer Walt Disney and Sony Pictures films to its streaming video service. (Netflix's films play in a browser or on your television through a set-top box made by Roku.) It's an important step — what's been holding back better content from many online sources aren't technological hurdles, but contractual hurdles. Starz and other premium cable channels have had rights to on-demand distribution locked up for some time. [Los Angeles Times]

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