The Netflix cash machine needs the kind of hits that money can’t buy
It is worth $166bn and has 150m users. But as it loses the rights to other networks’ best shows, it must create its own classics
Netflix is a multibillion-dollar programming machine in dire need of homemade hits – and it can no longer rely on Friends for help. Last week the streaming giant announced it would be bidding farewell to the perennially popular comedy from its US service at the end of the year, as it was confirmed that WarnerMedia would now offer it exclusively on its rival service, HBO Max, when it launches in 2020.
Friends is the most watched show on Netflix, but traditional media companies are no longer willing to supply a commercial phenomenon that has upended their own business models.