Friends is leaving Netflix for HBO Max


A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
When it comes to retaining the streaming rights to classic sitcoms, it hasn't been Netflix's day, their week, their month, or even their year.
WarnerMedia on Tuesday announced that Friends in 2020 will become an exclusive to its new streaming service, which has just been named HBO Max, The Hollywood Reporter writes. This confirms that the series is officially being pulled off of Netflix after this year.
Netflix came close to losing Friends last year, but it paid around $100 million to keep streaming the series just until the end of 2019. Many speculated that Friends would leave the platform after that point, but the new deal with WarnerMedia was non-exclusive, and there initially remained the possibility that the show could be made available both on Netflix and on the WarnerMedia streaming service in 2020. Now, however, we know that won't be the case.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
On Twitter, Netflix once again informed subscribers about the impending loss of a wildly popular show, writing that they're "sorry" to see Friends leave next year.
Less than two weeks ago, it was announced that Netflix is also set to lose The Office, which is headed to a new streaming service from NBCUniversal. Those streaming rights reportedly cost NBCUniversal about $500 million, and similarly, the Reporter writes that WarnerMedia paid $425 million in a five-year deal for Friends. They can only hope that this investment will be worth it and that subscribers will be there for them when HBO Max launches in spring 2020.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Brendan is a staff writer at The Week. A graduate of Hofstra University with a degree in journalism, he also writes about horror films for Bloody Disgusting and has previously contributed to The Cheat Sheet, Heavy, WhatCulture, and more. He lives in New York City surrounded by Star Wars posters.
-
Elon Musk used Starlink, which saved Ukraine, to thwart a Ukrainian attack on Russia's Crimea fleet
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Fitch downgrades US credit rating, citing 'repeated debt-limit political standoffs'
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Bed Bath & Beyond relaunches online following bankruptcy
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
San Francisco's iconic Anchor Brewing is closing after 127 years
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Lawmakers say tax prep companies illegally shared taxpayer data with Meta and Google
Speed Read
By Theara Coleman Published
-
Microsoft wins FTC battle to acquire Activision Blizzard
Speed Read
By Theara Coleman Published
-
Tesla reports record quarter for sales
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published
-
48 states sue telecom company over billions of robocalls
Speed Read
By Theara Coleman Published