Netflix buys streaming rights for Seinfeld, to air it from 2021 - Hindustan Times
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Netflix buys streaming rights for Seinfeld, to air it from 2021

Associated Press | ByAssociated Press, Los Angeles
Sep 17, 2019 06:04 PM IST

As Netflix loses rights for Friends and The Office, it will start streaming Seinfeld from 2021.

Move aside, Friends and The Office. Netflix now has a new gem — a show about nothing. The company announced Monday it would start streaming all 180 episodes of Seinfeld in 2021, gaining a hugely popular addition to its library as the battle for viewers heats up.

Seinfeld will start streaming on Netflix from 2021.
Seinfeld will start streaming on Netflix from 2021.

Netflix Inc., which pioneered the binge-watching culture of streaming, was dealt a double blow this summer when it lost The Office and Friends, two of its most popular shows, as their respective owners pulled them to add to their own streaming services.

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The Office will leave at the end of 2020 to join NBCUniversal’s new streaming service, and Friends will leave at the beginning of 2020 to join the upcoming HBO Max service. It’s a battle not likely to wane as the streaming TV space grows more crowded. Netflix has created significant momentum with its original shows, but new competitors are constantly popping up, including streaming arrivals from Apple and Disney.

Still, Netflix has a head start in the online space, with its deep library of past and new shows. It struck the five-year deal with Sony Pictures Television for the global streaming rights to Seinfeld, the Emmy-winning television comedy which aired its final episode in 1998. Terms were not released.

The Los Angeles Times reported Netflix paid well above the speculated $500 million NBCUniversal paid to retake The Office, and the reported $150 million per year Hulu parent Walt Disney Co. currently pays for Seinfeld. Both of those deals are for U.S. streaming only — Netflix has bought the global rights to show Seinfeld.

“Seinfeld is the television comedy that all television comedy is measured against,” Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos said in a statement. Netflix noted it is still focused on producing its own shows — but it can’t ignore the demand for rewatching old hit hits. The company spent $12 billion on original and non-original programming last year.

Jerry Seinfeld’s show Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee and his standup special Jerry Before Seinfeld are already distributed by Netflix.

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