The deal "[W]hich analysts estimate is worth $30 million per picture to DreamWorks over an unspecified period of years, is billed by the companies as the first time a major Hollywood supplier has chosen Web streaming over pay television," reports Brooks Barnes and Brian Stelter of The New York Times.

The article continues, "It is also a bet by Jeffrey Katzenberg, the animation studio’s chief executive, that consumers in the near future will not distinguish between the two. ‘We are really starting to see a long-term road map of where the industry is headed,’ Mr. Katzenberg said in an interview. ‘This is a game-changing deal.’

DreamWorks Animation’s current output deal is with HBO, and is set to expire in 2013.

The story also notes, "Netflix will begin streaming DreamWorks films starting in 2013. The studio plans three releases that year: ‘The Croods,’ a prehistoric comedy; ‘Turbo,’ about a garden snail; and ‘Peabody & Sherman,’ an adaptation of “Rocky and Bullwinkle” characters. Titles from the DreamWorks library, including ‘Kung Fu Panda’ and ‘Antz,’ will become available over time, the companies said.

DreamWorks Animation is probably best known for its series of "Shrek" movies.

Furthermore, Forbes is reporting that a "Financial Times report by Matthew Garrahan also asserts that another deal is in the works that could give Netflix the rights to stream the library of Warner Bros. TV programs as well." [Please Note: The Financial Times is behind a firewall. Click here to reach the FT’s site.]

The N.Y. Times article also says, "The opportunity to bolster its children’s and family offerings was another reason Netflix pursued a DreamWorks deal so aggressively. Netflix will also gain streaming rights to DreamWorks television specials."

Finally, the story expounds, "Signaling support for Netflix, John Weiser, president of domestic distribution for Sony Pictures Television, called it an “important player and a great customer,” and said the two companies were “actively discussing producing original programming together.”