Netflix may be known for offering some of our favorite TV and movie streams, but the company is about to step up its game and begin offering original content. Netflix has allegedly outbid a number of major cable networks for a new drama series produced by and starring Kevin Spacey called House of Cards, and may be about to close a deal at more than $100 million, according to a report on Deadline.com.

The deal has yet to be finalized, but Deadline's unnamed source claims that Netflix has made a commitment to two seasons of House of Cards, which the media site described as "staggering" and "pretty unheard of these days." A source for the New York Times later confirmed that Netflix was indeed involved in the bidding, but said there was "considerable uncertainty" about the terms of the deal. Yet another source for the Wall Street Journal said that Netflix was likely to pay much less than Deadline's speculated $100 million.

If things go smoothly, House of Cards will be the first original series to appear exclusively on Netflix, and it may not be the last. Though deals like this usually end up going to cable TV networks like HBO or Showtime, digital movie sites are constantly working to differentiate themselves from the competition, and an original series would help position Netflix as a premium entertainment offering instead of just a "dumb" video delivery service.

There's plenty of reason to try and stay ahead, too. Although Netflix currently delivers 61 percent of all digital video to US viewers according to NPD, Amazon recently introduced its own Instant Video service. Amazon's offering comes as part of Prime for just $79 per year (compared to Netflix's $95.88 per year on the streaming-only plan) and, although the selection has yet to match Netflix, Amazon is constantly adding new content to its library. Eventually, the two will end up on equal footing unless Netflix takes steps to offer more than what everyone else has. This is why nabbing the rights to new original series is so important.

In fact, by locking down House of Cards, Netflix is not only positioning itself ahead of Amazon, but "real" premium cable channels as well. It's currently difficult—though not impossible, depending on the show—to get legal online access to shows from premium channels until long after the season has ended and the DVDs are out.

With this deal, Netflix has begun the process of transcending traditional cable channels with its own original offerings that can be delivered to almost any device on demand. This, combined with major league sports beginning to stream live games to certain devices, is more data for would-be cord cutters.