Netflix breaks Bad in the UK

Netflix in the UK and Ireland has secured the exclusive subscription VoD rights to the final eight episodes of US cablenet AMC’s Breaking Bad.

The streaming service will have each new episode of the drama’s fifth season the day after it has aired in the US, beginning August 11.

“Netflix has been instrumental in making Breaking Bad the success that it is, particularly in the UK and Ireland, where it has built an audience and become a huge phenomenon,” said the drama’s creator Vince Gilligan.

Netflix currently streams new episodes of the US version of The Killing in the UK and Ireland a day after they have aired on AMC, reducing the number of people viewing the episode via illegal streams.

The first episode of HBO drama Game of Thrones, only available in the UK via pay TV channel Sky Atlantic, was said to be the most pirated piece of programming ever by file-sharing blog TorrentFreak.

However, Netflix arguably beat the internet pirates with its launch of its self-produced fourth season of Arrested Development.

The episodes were downloaded 100,000 times by illegal file sharers in the first 24 hours of their release, far fewer than the million downloads TorrentFreak said the episode of Game of Thrones attracted in the same space of time.

Breaking Bad stars Bryan Cranston as a high school chemistry teacher who begins producing drugs having been diagnosed with cancer. Seasons one and two aired in the UK on Channel 5, although subsequent seasons have only been available in the country via Netflix.

The show, distributed internationally by Sony Pictures Television, is set to be adapted for Latin American audiences by Sony Pictures Television and Colombia’s Teleset.

Netflix is currently riding high having secured a total of 14 Emmy nominations for its original drama and comedy series last week.

It will now expand into documentaries and stand-up comedy specials following a 1.2 million rise in its worldwide customer base.