Netflix ‘Open for Business’ in Terms of Licensed Content as ‘Sex and the City’ Sets Netflix Premiere Date

Netflix built its throne as the largest streaming service in the world primarily on its reputation of being the central hub where you could find all of the TV shows and movies that you could ever hope to watch. However, as the service grew and became an increasingly powerful player in the entertainment world, fewer and fewer competing media companies were willing to part with their content as they were afraid that it would only increase Netflix’s dominance in the burgeoning streaming space. However, now that streaming has settled into an era where growth is important, but no longer the primary measure of success, an increasing number of studios have been willing to return to or increase their licensing deals with Netflix.

• After years of media companies pulling back their content from competing platforms, more have resumed licensing shows to Netflix over the past year.
• “Sex and the City” is one of the crown jewels of Max’s catalog, and it will also be available on Netflix this spring.
• Netflix has declared itself open for business in terms of licensing shows from other media companies.

Netflix knew that its content pipeline from studios would eventually slow down, which is why it began investing in original titles 2012 when it premiered its first original series “Lilyhammer” and its first film “Beasts of No Nation” in 2015. As media companies began to recognize the potential of streaming, they started to pull back the content that had been licensed to Netflix and other outlets so that they could create “walled gardens” inside their own proprietary streaming services.

Their goal was to build platforms that would exclusively house all of their intellectual property, forcing fans of their respective titles to sign up to maintain access to their favorites. However, the subsequent content proliferation was one of a handful of factors that led to consumers being forced to pick and choose what titles were worth their time and dollars, fragmenting the cable-bundle revenue stream to the point that everyone was forced to survive on a fraction of what they had been accustomed it.

Now that media companies are no longer in a customer-acquisition-at-all-costs mentality, they are looking for every opportunity to monetize their libraries, and Netflix — streaming’s only reliably profitable service — is waiting to welcome them back with open arms. While not the first, certainly one of the biggest licensing deals for the streaming leader was announced this week as HBO’s iconic series “Sex and the City” is set to stream on Netflix in the coming months. The show will be available on the streaming giant in April, while also still being available on Max.

“I believe because of our distribution heft and our recommendation system, that sometimes we can uniquely add more value to studios’ IP than they can,” Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said on the company’s latest earnings call on Tuesday. “Not all the time, but sometimes it does, and we’re the best buyer for it. So I am thrilled that the studios are more open to licensing again, and I’m thrilled to tell them that we are open for business.”

Why is Warner Bros. Discovery Licensing ‘Sex and the City’ to Netflix?

After WarnerMedia and Discovery officially merged in 2022, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav went about making a large swath of changes in an effort to cut down on the new company’s debt, and achieve profitability in its streaming sector, as quickly as possible. After removing titles from WBD’s flagship streaming service formerly known as HBO Max and shelving nearly complete films, he turned his attention to licensing.

Initially, these efforts involved allowing titles that had been dropped from Max to stream on ad-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) services like Tubi and The Roku Channel, eventually, it became a practice of allowing select titles to stream on both Max and other services, predominantly Netflix.

Last summer, WBD began non-exclusively licensing popular HBO titles including “Insecure,” “Ballers,” “Band of Brothers,” “The Pacific,” and “Six Feet Under” to the worldwide streaming leader.

Unlike previous deals, this allowed for the shows to remain on Max while also on Netflix, and while WBD obviously benefited financially from the deal, the titles that became available on Netflix also experienced a huge spike in demand, which was part of the backend goal of the deal; “Insecure” saw a 370% increase in demand upon its arrival on Netflix. While the vast majority of that increased traffic was on Netflix, it does still have long-term benefits for WBD and Max.

When the company’s licensing deal with Netflix eventually expires, the viewers who initially found the shows on the world’s largest streamer will be forced to turn to Max in order to binge them again. So, not only do these deals give Zaslav much-needed cash up front, but they also have a long and important tail on the other side.

One such show that has already experienced the massive impact of being available on Netflix is the legal drama “Suits.” The show aired rather unremarkedly on the USA Network from 2011 to 2019 and has been available on Peacock, which is owned by NBCUniversal, as is USA. The show built up a solid fanbase over its nine seasons, but other than starring the future Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle, it did not generate a tremendous amount of broad pop culture discussion. However, when the series debuted on Netflix in early-2023, it became a ratings juggernaut breaking records for months at a time.

While a far more popular title than “Suits,” WBD is hoping that “Sex and the City” will have a similar trajectory. Since debuting in 1998, the HBO hit has not only spawned a pair of movies, but it has been previously licensed to TBS, E!, and other channels that had to make strategic edits for non-premium cable airwaves.

Not only is “Sex and the City” one of the most brand-defining shows in HBO history, but it has remained popular for nearly 30 years to the point that Max is now the home to its continuation series “And Just Like That.” While WBD has licensed popular shows to competitors in the past, this is a coup for Netflix as it will be gaining six seasons of one of the most critically acclaimed and time-tested prestige comedies of all time; and Warner Bros. Discovery hopes that a renewed interest in the original will also drive people to its flagship streaming service to watch the revival series.

What Other Shows Will Netflix Look to License?

In addition to its deals with WBD, in 2023 Netflix has also inked an agreement with Disney to stream hit shows including “Lost,” “How I Met Your Mother,” “Prison Break,” “Reba,” “Home Improvement,” and more, all of which currently stream on Hulu. Based on how executives have talked about licensing recently, it seems like as more companies become comfortable with sharing some of their biggest titles, Netflix could be looking to add even more fan favorites to its library at any time.

“We’ve always had a healthy appetite for licensing content from others for our members,” Sarandos said on Tuesday. “We’ve got a rich history of helping break some of the TV’s biggest hits like ‘Breaking Bad’ and ‘Walking Dead’ or even more recently with ‘Schitt’s Creek.’ Because of our recommendation and our reach, we can resurrect a show like ‘Suits’ and turn it into a big pop culture moment but also generate billions of hours of joy for our members. So I think you’ve got to remember the studios have always been in the business of selling their content to others, including direct competitors for years.”

I am not sure that the streaming wars will ever actually be winnable, as the industry will continue to ebb and flow, innovate, and evolve, requiring companies to do so in order to keep up with consumer demands. However, from where things stand now, it is nearly impossible to argue that Netflix is not atop the streaming mountain, with all of its competitors hoping to survive on the licensing fees that only the world’s largest streamer can afford to pay out.