Hollywood Finally Finds A Powerful, Versatile Friend In Silicon Valley

Direct, personal relationships without lawyers as intermediaries appears to be one of the keys to Netflix's runaway success with its online movie streaming service, according to Greg Sandoval, CNET's Media Maverick columnist.

Sandoval writes that an "entertainment executive" told him that other web video companies dealing with content companies should look to Netflix as an example of how deals get done.

"Unlike the companies that [tried to strike partnerships with the studios] before, we didn't make the mistake of relegating relationships to agents and lawyers to broker deals," Netflix's Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos told CNET. "The same way we don't outsource our [intellectual property], we don't outsource our relationships...It's our goal to be embedded into the studios' business and understand what drives their decision making. We do our best to be good partners."

The Los Gatos, Calif.-based company unveiled a new streaming-only subscription service Monday for $7.99 a month. It is increasing its DVD service by a dollar to $9.99 a month.

Netflix currently has 16. 9 million subscribers, and is available on more than 200 consumer electronics devices.

Sandoval reports that there are multiple reasons for Netflix's success.

One of them is the company's willingness to respect Hollywood's business model and to accommodate the industry's timed windows of movie releases.