And just like that, Netflix is close to tying up another major content licensing deal.
Netflix will start streaming Sex and the City as early as April after reaching an agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery, according to the New York Times. Puck’s Dylan Byers also had the news.
Deadline has contacted Netflix for comment.
A deal for Sex and the City would be a major coup for Netflix. It is one of HBO’s most important library titles and has a modern spin-off series in the shape of And Just Like That… The latter is set to remain exclusive to Max.
For Netflix, these licensing deals can unlock old titles to many millions of its members, as was seen with Suits, which became the hottest show of last summer. For Warner Bros. Discovery, licensing is increasingly seen as a way of sweating its assets as Netflix cements its dominance in the streaming game.
Deadline revealed last June that Warner Bros. Discovery struck a deal to license a number of titles to Netflix, including Insecure, Ballers, and Six Feet Under.
Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos signaled on Tuesday that he was looking for more licensed content after the streamer piled on 13M subscribers in the final three months of 2023.
“I believe because of our distribution heft and our recommendation system that sometimes we can uniquely add more value to the studio’s IP than they can. Not all the time, but sometimes it does, and we are the best buyer for it,” Sarandos told investors. “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.”
As well as the Warner Bros. Discovery arrangement, Netflix inked a wide-ranging deal with Disney in December for titles including Lost, This Is Us, and How I Met Your Mother.
Sarandos reminded investors of the success licensed shows have had on Netflix. “I guess I’d call you back to that history again and just say we’ve got a rich history of helping break some of TV’s biggest hits like Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead. Even more recently with Schitt’s Creek,” he said.
“We can resurrect the show like Suits and turn it into a big pop culture moment and also generate billions of hours of joy for our members I think you’re good to remember the studios have always been in the business of selling their content to others, including direct competitors for years.”
Sex and the City aired on HBO between 1998 and 2004, starring Kristin Davis, Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon, and Kim Cattrall as four friends navigating love and life in New York City. The series spawned two movies and Davis, Jessica Parker, and Nixon reunited for And Just Like That…
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Source: DLine
