HBO Licenses Its Content to Netflix
by EG
HBO is kicking off the next era of the competition between streaming platforms by licensing some of its content to Netflix. Several series, including Insecure and Six Feet Under, will be shifting from HBO's Max platform to Netflix. Deals like this could become more common as streamers look for new ways to profit from their content libraries. Read on for details.
HBO’s Insecure is now streaming on Netflix, marking the first time an HBO original series is available on a rival streaming platform in the U.S.
All five seasons of the Issa Rae-fronted series, which aired its series finale in 2021, landed on the rival platform on Monday, confirming reports that the show could be among the Warner Bros. Discovery-owned titles added to Netflix.
The streamer is also set to add Band of Brothers, The Pacific, Six Feet Under and Ballers as part of a co-exclusive deal with WBD’s Max, which closed late last week. Additionally, HBO series True Blood will be added to Netflix outside the U.S.
HBO has rarely licensed its original shows beyond its own corporate siblings, with Sex and the City sold in syndication (with significant edits) to TBS and later other basic cable networks. And when Richard Plepler was CEO, HBO licensed series like The Sopranos, Six Feet Under, Deadwood and The Wire to Amazon as HBO didn’t have its own streaming platflorm at the time.
The deal both gives some of HBO’s titles potentially a new audience and could help WBD from a financial standpoint. The David Zaslav-led conglomerate has been seeking ways to cut costs, removing some content from the Max platform, previously known as HBO Max, and canceling a number of projects on TBS as well as previously greenlit titles, like the Batgirl movie. The company has also had layoffs in recent months.
On her Instagram stories, Rae, who co-created, wrote and executive produced Insecure in addition to starring in it, highlighted that the series was available on Netflix, re-posting the streamer’s Instagram announcement and sharing a short video of the show playing on TV with a “Now playing Netflix” graphic as someone could be heard saying, “syndication.”
Get the rest of the story at The Hollywood Reporter.