Seinfeld to be available on Netflix starting 2021
Netflix might be losing The Office and Friends, but Seinfeld will be coming to the platform in 2021. What are the details?
The end is in sight for two of Netflix’s most popular shows, but the platform has some backup plans. NBC decided to take back The Office from Netflix in 2021 and put it on its future streaming platform NBC Universal (anticipated launch date April 2020). Warner Bros. did the same with Friends, deciding to move the show to its streaming service HBO Max when the platform launches in 2020 (also considering an April 2020 launch date).
Netflix is combating these exits by continuing to invest a ton of money in original content, but it’s clearly not against the idea of bringing another hit series on to the platform. It recently announced a deal with Sony Pictures Pictures Television to become the exclusive streaming home for the Seinfeld series starting in 2021.
The five-year deal will commence when Sony’s current agreements with Hulu and TBS expire. Although Seinfeld episodes have previously streamed on both Hulu and Amazon, the Netflix deal will mark the first time all 180 episodes will be on one streaming service.
Both Netflix and HBO Max were reportedly in the mix to land Seinfeld. The HBO Max fit made some sense, as Warner Bros. already had a connection to the series as the owner of TBS. The aforementioned Friends deal, however, along with some other deals in the pipeline, may have made the pursuit of the high-priced Seinfeld untenable (Warner Bros. only had so much cash to throw around).
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Hulu is expected to get funneled quality content from Disney, which now owns the platform. This makes the loss of the show easier to swallow.
Seinfeld might not be on quite the level as Friends and The Office in terms of streaming viewership, but it is still a hugely popular show that will undoubtedly bring more eyeballs to Netflix.
Source: Deadline