'The Office' could leave Netflix in streaming battle and fans are freaking out
Bryan Alexander
You might want to Netflix binge-watch "The Office" and "Friends." Pronto.
Because its getting ugly in the battlefield of emerging streaming services.
The Wall Street Journal reports that NBCUniversal, which owns the rights to "The Office," is having internal discussions about removing the comedy staple from Netflix when the contract expires in 2021. NBCUniversal is launching its own streaming service and "The Office" would be a major draw.
There were cries of despair on Twitter well in advance of any contract expiration.
"This is the real Threat Level Midnight. #netflix #theoffice," wrote Twitter user @MyOwnInsideJoke.
"If 'The Office' leaves Netflix my life will be ruined forever," Twitter user @Tondruh wrote.
Another user cried, "If @netflix (loses) The Office show... I’ll stop my $15 dollar up charge subscription (this is thus the only reason why I still have Netflix)."
But it's bigger than Dunder Mifflin.
WarnerMedia, which owns the rights to "Friends," and Walt Disney are also launching streaming services and "are looking to take their hit content back to feed their own platforms," according to the Journal.
Popular "Friends" reruns cost Netflix $100 million in 2019, about three times the fee it had been paying in previous years, says the Journal — and when WarnerMedia launches its streaming service, "it can take the sitcom back if it chooses, or offer to share it with Netflix."
Netflix will decide on a case-by-case basis whether to share shows, Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos told the paper in a recent interview.
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said the company has long expected to lose some of its library content. The Journal quotes Hastings in an earnings conference call saying the company is “ready for it, anticipating it, and in fact we are eager to have more and more of our money to be able to do spectacular new titles.”
Sarandos said on the same call that Netflix originals such as "Stranger Things" are “the shows that our members most value us for, and the things that we really pay a lot of attention to.”
The official Netflix US Twitter account put "The Office" situation in perspective with a post Wednesday: "Hello it's me with your regularly scheduled reminder that The Office will be on Netflix until 2021 — at least!"