Netflix is paying $100 million to keep streaming Friends

Totally worth it

A false panic went around the internet this week. People were mistakenly reporting that Friends was leaving UK Netflix at the end of year. It was completely not true, don’t worry, but it showed how important the 90s sitcom is to the streaming giant. https://twitter.com/NetflixUK/status/1069629274368421888 It was actually due to leave the service in the US, but it appears they renegotiated and the show is staying put on that side of the Atlantic as well. But it doesn’t come cheap. The New York Times is reporting that Netflix are now paying $100 million (£78 million) to licence the show from WarnerMedia. That’s a massive leap from the $30 million they were paying for it before. The deal is reportedly non-exclusive, meaning that Friends could appear on other streaming services – in particular, the service that is being planned by AT&T, Warner’s parent company, to launch by the end of 2019. Netflix is notoriously coy about releasing their viewing figures, but in July an independent report revealed that Friends is their most-watched show in the UK.