LOS ANGELES: Steven Spielberg will produce multiple new films for Netflix every year, the company said Monday, in a major deal that highlights how fully Hollywood has embraced streaming platforms.

The partnership with arguably Tinseltown's top director is a coup for Netflix at a time when competition with streaming rivals including Disney+ and HBO Max is heating up.

It also follows reports that Spielberg had been skeptical about streaming in recent years, and had even moved to bar Netflix films from Oscars eligibility -- claims that the legendary "Jaws" and "Schindler's List" director has since dismissed as false.

In a joint statement about the Netflix deal, Spielberg praised "this new avenue for our films" as an "amazing opportunity to tell new stories together and reach audiences in new ways."

Spielberg also praised his close relationship with Netflix co-CEO and content chief Ted Sarandos, a former industry outsider who has risen to become one of Hollywood's top power brokers.

"We cannot wait to get to work with the Amblin team and we are honored and thrilled to be part of this chapter of Steven's cinematic history," said Sarandos.

Spielberg's Amblin Partners will continue to make content for Universal, one of Tinseltown's oldest major studios, while his upcoming "West Side Story" will be released by Disney-owned 20 Century Studios.—AFP