Keeping your favorite sitcom on the streaming service did not come cheap!
Friends is staying on Netflix in the new year, thanks to a huge new deal.
ET has learned that the network will pay in the ballpark of $100 million to continue streaming Friends for another year. The final terms are still being negotiated.
The The New York Times was first to report on the massive deal to keep the beloved show on the streaming service for another year.
Yes, that’s an enormous amount of money but it’s only a small fraction of the estimated $12-13 billion the streaming giant is using to create content in 2018 alone, according to The Economist.
The Times also reports that in previous years, Netflix only paid $30 million for the streaming rights to the popular sitcom. So why the big jump in price? One easy reason to point to is the public outcry that erupted over the weekend and into Monday when fans everywhere discovered that the show would be yanked from Netflix at the end of December. So, although Friends went off the air in 2004, it obviously retains a devoted fanbase.
Soon after fans began panicking, the expiration date was quickly removed from the show and Netflix's chief content officer, Ted Sarandos, told The Hollywood Reporter that the show’s "departure is a rumor."
The streaming service squashed any remaining doubt with a tweet assuring fans that Friends isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
“The Holiday Armadillo has granted your wish: 'Friends' will still be there for you in the US throughout 2019,” the post read, featuring Ross (David Schwimmer) in his not-exactly-festive costume.
The new reporting suggests a gigantic deal has been hammered out in a matter of days to ensure the cherished TV gang will be available to fans while nursing New Year's Day hangovers.
However, WarnerMedia has previously announced that they intend to launch their own streaming app late in 2019, where Friends, a property of the company, is destined to reside.
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