Seinfeld moving from Hulu to Netflix after streamer acquires rights to NBC sitcom

Netflix has acquired the streaming rights for Seinfeld, in a major victory that means the beloved sitcom will soon leave Hulu for its competitor.

The announcement came on Monday when Netflix announced on Twitter: “All 180 episodes of the Emmy-Award winning Seinfeld are coming to Netflix – worldwide! – starting in 2021.”

According to Deadline, Netflix’s deal will last for five years and grants Netflix exclusive streaming rights for Seinfeld around the world.

All nine seasons of Seinfeld are currently available on Hulu as the result of a deal struck in 2015.

Hulu was reportedly paying an estimated $875,000 (£704,000) per episode, amounting to almost $160m (£128m) for the complete Seinfeld collection, Variety reported at the time.

It wasn’t immediately clear how much Netflix had agreed to pay for the Seinfeld catalogue.

According to Deadline, Sony Pictures Television, which distributes the show, pitched it to multiple platforms without an asking price – but the Seinfeld deal is said to have reached the same proportions as the recent bidding war over Friends.

It was announced in July 2019 that Friends would leave Netflix in 2020 for HBO Max, WarnerMedia’s new streaming service.

Sources told The Hollywood Reporter that HBO Max had paid $425m (£342m) to feature Friends on its platform for five years.

Netflix appears to be relying on the Seinfeld acquisition to bolster its catalogue after losing not just one, but two major NBC shows.

Just a month earlier, Netflix announced that The Office would leave its platform in 2021 as NBC had decided to offer it on its own streaming service.