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The official Netflix US Twitter account set off a fury of panic yesterday when they tweeted about losing the streaming rights to The Office which is BY FAR the most streamed show on Netflix.
When I say that The Offices is ‘by far’ the most streamed show on Netflix I really really mean that. In 2018, Netflix subscribers streamed The Office for a total of 52.1 BILLION minutes. Compared to only 32.6 billion minutes for Friends in 2nd place and 30.3 billion minutes for Grey’s Anatomy in third. So it was streamed nearly 2x more than the second most watched show in 2018 on Netflix.
NBC Universal is launching their own streaming service to compete with Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video and they’re taking The Office with them. For a while, there was hope that Netflix would be able to spend a fortune and retain the streaming rights but that’s no longer the case, the show is leaving Netflix and everyone’s sad.
Here’s the story from the Hollywood Reporter:
The NBC cult favorite will leave Netflix when its current deal with the streamer expires at the end of 2020. NBCUniversal’s forthcoming direct-to-consumer platform will then be the exclusive streaming home for all nine seasons of the comedy starting in 2021. NBCU’s streaming platform will retain exclusive domestic streaming rights to The Office for five years, paying $100 million per year to stream the series and outbidding Netflix for the rights. Producers Universal Television held the auction, which sources describe as “arms length” in process. That means that Universal Television and potential bidders, like sibling company NBCU streaming and Netflix — were kept far apart in a bid to ensure a fair auction and that profit participants got the best deal for the series. (via)
The NBC-Universal streaming service will be successful. This is a certainty. They’ll have The Office, Friends, Seinfeld, 30 Rock, Parks and Recreation and coutnless others. How big of a hit this will be to Netflix remains to be seen.
Netflix sent out this tweet yesterday setting of a fury of responses:
We're sad that NBC has decided to take The Office back for its own streaming platform — but members can binge watch the show to their hearts' content ad-free on Netflix until January 2021
— Netflix (@netflix) June 25, 2019
me to NBC pic.twitter.com/6Mv8WxmnYj
— Ash-Slay🤧 (@aflet1117) June 26, 2019
https://twitter.com/IAMBARNINGHARD/status/1143672928304803840
Bold of you to assume we all will make it to 2021
— Glitter and Pink (Taylor’s Version) (@glittrandpinktv) June 25, 2019
— What's on Netflix (@whatonnetflix) June 25, 2019
This person makes a great point…Why bother paying for a streaming service just to watch one show when you can buy all of the DVDs for less than it would cost for a few months of streaming?
@nbc get out of here. Ya’ll aren’t getting my business. I’ll just buy the DVD’s.
— Benjamin Lovel (@Benjamin_Lovel) June 25, 2019
https://twitter.com/jbillinson/status/1143646522577498112
I saw one Twitter user run the math. It takes 99.5 hours to binge watch every episode of The Office. The show will officially leave Netflix in January 2021 which is ~555 days away. That means you have 13,320 hours and if you start watching now you’ll be able to watch all 9 seasons a total of 134 times between now and then if you watch nonstop.
With NBC Universal launching their own streaming service this means that cord cutting moves closer to being more expensive than paying for television (if it’s not already). Theindividual streaming services including the NBC-U, Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, YouTube TV, Disney+, ESPN+, Apple TV+, Fubo TV, HBO Now/Go, PlayStation Vue, and a few others.