Netflix's (NFLX) show page for 1990s sitcom "Friends" on Monday indicated that the show would only be available to stream until January 1, 2019. The show has been available on Netflix for four years. Following viewer outrage, the company confirmed that the WarnerMedia (T) show will remain on Netflix throughout 2019. The news comes as WarnerMedia parent AT&T and rivals plan to launch their own streaming services in 2019.
'FRIENDS' WILL 'BE THERE FOR YOU' ON NETFLIX: On Monday, a Business Insider article noted that Netflix's show page for "Friends" showed the NBC sitcom would would be available to stream only until January 1, 2019, angering fans, with many taking to social media to discuss the loss of one of their favorite shows. It has been rumored that the comedy would move to WarnerMedia's streaming platform in 2020 as the new service prepares to launch in the fourth quarter of 2019. However, the January 1 date may have been a glitch, and NBC editor Claire Atkinson tweeted that she had asked Netflix's content boss, Ted Sarandos, about "Friends" while attending the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference. Sarandos indicated that "Friends" would not be leaving Netflix in January, according to Atkinson. Additionally, Joe Flint, a Wall Street Journal reporter, also tweeted that the inclusion of the January 1 date on Netflix's show page "appears to have been a mistake and [the] show is not leaving." Netflix US later tweeted that "The Holiday Armadillo has granted your wish: 'Friends' will still be there for you in the U.S. throughout 2019."
'PIVOT' TO NON-EXCLUSIVE DEAL: Though the multiyear pact between WarnerMedia and Netflix is in the process of being finalized, a person familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal that unlike Netflix's usual content deals, streaming exclusivity for the comedy series isn't guaranteed for the length of the deal. Netflix will continue to be the exclusive streaming home of "Friends" for 2019. After that, WarnerMedia has an option to put the show on its own streaming platforms either exclusively or in a shared window, the person said.
WHAT'S NOTABLE: AT&T is preparing to launch three direct-to-consumer streaming services in the fourth quarter of 2019. One service would focus on movies, a second would include original programming and more films and a third would be a package of the first two along with classic movies, children's content and other library fare. WarnerMedia Chief Executive Officer John Stankey last week told analysts that shows currently on other platforms including streaming services could migrate back to the new platform. Rival Disney (DIS) also has plans to launch its own streaming service next year called Disney+. In August 2017, Disney announced that it would pull all of its movies from Netflix in 2019. Netflix recently canceled Luke Cage, Iron Fist and Daredevil, three of its Marvel series, ahead of the Disney+ launch. At Monday's UBS investor conference, Netflix's Sarandos said he expects that as AT&T and Disney launch their own streaming services, holding onto and acquiring library content will get tougher. "Our move into original programming was a bet that some of this stuff was going to happen," Sarandos said, adding that if the people who sell old content or create new content for Netflix were to evolve, "they are less likely to sell us programming or produce for us." Sarandos also noted that its deals for many acquired shows have years left to run. When asked about his competitors at other big companies, such as Apple (AAPL) and Amazon (AMZN), Sarandos said "I think there's room for them to be successful... They would not hurt us at all. Nothing that's on Netflix would be on those services, and nothing on those services, over time, would be on Netflix."
PRICE ACTION: In morning trading, shares of Netflix are down 1.25% to $286.69, while shares of AT&T are up fractionally to $31.73.
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