Netflix

In "Lilyhammer," whose eight parts debut Monday as an exclusive Netflix stream, Steven Van Zandt retrieves his Silvio wig from the "Sopranos" costume box to play Frank "The Fixer" Tagliano, a New York mobster who retreats into witness protection in Lillehammer, Norway. He remembers the town from broadcasts of the 1994 Winter Olympics as a place of "clean air, fresh white snow, gorgeous broads" and figures it will be the last place anyone would think to look for him. You know how that will go. To say that this is the first original series from the video rental giant is not to say that it originated with the company.

Netflix's next international launch will be in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, the subscription video giant announced late Tuesday. The company will launch its streaming video service in Scandinavia by the end of 2012. It did not announce further details, except that it will give subscribers a mix of Hollywood movies and television shows along with local content for a monthly fee. Netflix previously said it would launch in a new European market later this year. The Times reported in 2011 that it was considering Scandinavia along with Spain and a combination of the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Belgium.

Carl Icahn has amassed a nearly 10% stake in Netflix Inc., boosting the sagging stock of the subscription video service but also making some wary that the activist investor will make waves for management. The billionaire has quietly acquired about 5.5 million shares since early September, buying stock at an average price of $58 a share - well off its peak of $298.73 in July 2011. The opportunistic Icahn said the company's stock is undervalued, given its influential role in technological changes that are revolutionizing how consumers watch movies and television shows.

Netflix has acquired the exclusive U.S. rights to movies from Walt Disney Studios films, beginning in 2016, in a three-year deal that catapults the Internet video-on-demand service into direct competition with pay-TV giants such as HBO and Showtime. The news is a blow to the pay channel Starz, which previously had the rights to Disney movies, including its Pixar animated films and Marvel superhero pictures. Disney has also agreed to immediately give Netflix non-exclusive streaming rights to more of its older library titles including "Dumbo," "Pocahontas" and "Alice in Wonderland.

"The Transformers," "Hunger Games," "The Avengers" and "Paranormal Activity" are headed to Amazon.com. Pay cable channel Epix has signed a digital distribution deal with the online retail giant, ending speculation that it might continue its current exclusive arrangement with Netflix.  Under the partnership that launched Tuesday, new movies from Paramount Pictures, Lionsgate and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer will be available to consumers who subscribe to Amazon Prime, which provides unlimited two-day shipping for products and streaming of 25,000 movies and television episodes on digital devices.

Netflix Inc. has unveiled new social features to make it easier for subscribers to discover new TV shows and movies and discuss them with their friends. Starting Wednesday, subscribers to Netflix's streaming service can link their accounts to Facebook, allowing them to see what their friends have watched. Through this integration, new recommendations will appear in the subscriber's Netflix queue under rows labeled "Friends' Favorites" and "Watched by your friends. " In a nod to privacy considerations, Netflix subscribers can opt to share what they've watched only within the Netflix experience -- or choose to share viewing information on Facebook.

DreamWorks Animation will create the first Netflix original series for kids -- a show based on next summer's animated film "Turbo. " The new series, "Turbo: F.A.S.T. " -- short for "Fast Action Stunt Team" -- is to debut in December in the United States and the 39 other countries where Netflix offers its online subscription service. The program will continue the animated exploits of the movie's snail hero, Turbo, who in the film pursues the improbable dream of competing in the Indianapolis 500. "Netflix boasts one of the largest and fastest-growing audiences in kids' television,"  DreamWorks Animation Chief Executive Jeffrey Katzenberg said in a statement.

Netflix Inc cut its third-quarter forecast by 1 million U.S. subscribers, sending its shares down nearly 15 percent, after a price increase earlier this month caused customers to shy away from its DVD-only service. In what Wall Street has called a "rare, large and surprising misstep" by Netflix Chief Executive Officer Reed Hastings and his team, the company said it would have 24 million subscribers at the end of the third quarter, down from a prior forecast of about 25 million.

Any teenager knows anything posted on Facebook is public -- but apparently the staff of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission begs to differ. The SEC issued a "Wells notice" to Netflix Inc. and its chief executive, Reed Hastings, taking issue with his decision to announce on Facebook that subscribers had viewed more than 1 billion hours of video in June. The notice, issued Wednesday, indicates that the regulatory agency is weighing whether to bring a civil action against Netflix for the July disclosure.  At issue is whether Hastings violated rules designed to ensure that investors have equal access to information.

Netflix said it plans to let its deal to carry Nickelodeon, BET and MTV content expire next month, even though it continues to discuss licensing certain shows. The video subscription service said it has been moving away from broad, multi-year deals with networks and cable channels, in favor of more selective licensing arrangements to carry programs that will work best for its subscribers. Netflix Chief Executive Reed Hastings, in a letter to shareholders, said a recent deal with Warner Bros.