'Friends' is Staying on Netflix (for Now)
by EG
For a while this week, it looked like Netflix was going to lose one of its most popular series, Friends, at the beginning of 2019. But the streamer has apparently reached a deal with Warner Bros TV to keep Friends until 2020, when it will move to Warner's own new subscription streaming platform. Read on for details.
After a social media-driven frenzy, Netflix has confirmed that Friends will remain on the service throughout 2019, putting an end to fears the hit comedy from Warner Bros. TV would be leaving as of Jan. 1.
As for the streaming future of Friends, it's widely expected that the ensemble comedy will move to WarnerMedia's streaming platform in 2020 as the new service is expected to launch in the fourth quarter of 2019.
Over the weekend and into Monday morning, Friends fans had been posting and noting when the show's Netflix page indicated that the beloved NBC sitcom would be leaving its sole streaming home on Jan. 1. As of Monday afternoon, however, the expiration date had been removed from Friends' show page, and Netflix's chief content officer Ted Sarandos told The Hollywood Reporter that the show's "departure is a rumor."
Reps for Warner Bros. TV, who produced the mega-hit, did not immediately respond to THR's calls and emails for comment. Expiration dates appearing and disappearing may be a function of the streaming service's contracts expiring and possible renegotiations taking place.
But the brief appearance of the Friends expiration date sent fans panicking, with many taking to social media to vent about losing access to one of their favorite shows.
Monday's back-and-forth comes as Warner Bros. parent company WarnerMedia prepares to launch its own streaming service in the fourth quarter of 2019, with BTIG analyst Rich Greenfield suggesting as far back as October that Friends could leave Netflix for the WarnerMedia service. Greenfield speculated in an analyst note, "Content like Friends is likely to disappear from Netflix in 2019 as WarnerMedia launches its own SVOD service."
Friends arrived on Netflix on Jan. 1, 2015, a high-profile addition that quickly sparked a fresh wave of memes and think pieces about the beloved Central Perk pals. The syndication staple's arrival on Netflix marked the first time it was available on a streaming service and was heralded with a star-studded announcement. Netflix is currently the only place Friends is streaming, but it remains in syndication on TBS and Viacom's cable networks, among other channels.
Get the rest of the story at The Hollywood Reporter.
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