Friends and The Office set to leave Netflix
Is this the beginning of the end for the streaming giant?
Netflix, the world champion of streaming services, has some new competition on its heels and they are playing for keeps. Netflix last month announced that The Office is set to leave its platform in January 2021, giving subscribers just about a year-and-a-half more to stream the wildly popular sitcom. NBC chairman Robert Greenblatt told Vulture last year he believes The Office is Netflix's most popular acquired show. The Office is heading to NBCUniversal's upcoming ad-supported streaming service, which launches in 2020. Apparently, Universal Television held an auction for streaming rights to The Office, which Netflix participated in. NBCUniversal offered $100 million a year for five years, the report says, which beat Netflix's bid.
Netflix suffered another blow to retaining the streaming rights to another fan-favorite sitcom, as it lost Friends to HBO Max, the new streaming service from WarnerMedia. Even though Netflix releases limited numbers on the viewers of each show, it's safe to say that Friends and The Office are two of the most popular shows on their platform. On the upside, by not paying for the streaming rights for both shows, it does free up close to a billion dollars for Netflix to pump into its original programming, which has done very well for itself. Titles like Stranger Things, Ozark, Orange is the New Black, Glow, and many others have done very well critically, and with retaining subscriptions to the streaming service.
The streaming rights to The Office reportedly cost NBCUniversal about $500 million, and similarly, the Reporter writes that WarnerMedia paid $425 million in a five-year deal for Friends. This is a big hit against Netflix, but in all honesty, I don't think the 140 million subscribers that Netflix has only tuned in for Friends and The Office. If anything, having both shows on there is an added bonus to the huge roster of movies and shows. What will be the big difference in the next few years with more streaming services on the rise, is how will Netflix keep up with the competition, and continue to keep their subscribers happy in a world full of so many choices when it comes to streaming and original programming.
Be sure to check out our other blogs, as well as our 90's and The Office Podcast Episodes:
The Office vs Parks and Rec Part 1
The Office vs Parks and Rec Part 2
Story by Brian Hernandez - CEO/Founder of Zero Dark Nerdy
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