It seems like Netflix is still able to land exclusive content deals for past seasons of popular shows by offering slightly more than their competitors. Even the most tight-fisted producer/distributor will take Netflix's money over no money. Unfortunately for Netflix, there aren't too many independent production studios left that aren't owned by distributors with existing contracts. Netflix needs to offer a better deal to the producers of the next hit show than they can get from a broadcast network.
This is true, the only other streaming service I think of is Amazon Plus, so for now that aren't that many players. The thing that frustrates me the most are distributors like HBO. I love HBO shows...almost all of them really. But guess what? I can't watch a single fucking episode of ANYTHING unless I sign up for their premium cable package OR INDIVIDUALLY buy each season or TV show collection on my own. Would it not be better for HBO to simply license its content out to services like Netflix instead of locking their stuff up in a vault? I don't know, I guess I'm not their accountant either though.