For fans of NBC’s The Office Tuesday brought some bad news. NBC is moving the Greg Daniels-created property off of Netflix, shifting it to NBC Universal‘s proprietary streaming service beginning in 2021. It’s a significant shift, one that Netflix confirmed in a tweet later in the day and while it’s not entirely unexpected, the move isn’t sitting well with fans. Now, they’ve taken to starting a petition to keep The Office on Netflix.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Over on Change.org, the home of all kinds of petitions including many entertainment-based ones, a fan named Josh Fletcher has set up a petition “for NBC to allow The Office to stay on Netflix.” As of the time of the writing of this article the petition has 12,273 signatures and counting in under 24 hours.
On its face, the petition is a nice way for fans to show just how important the show is to them. The series, which ran for nine seasons on NBC from 2005 to 2013, is still incredibly popular but that’s also a critical reason why this well-intentioned fan petition isn’t likely to have any real impact. Because The Office is so popular, it could serve as a reason consumers would subscribe to NBC Universal’s upcoming streaming service. Having a major “money maker” on a competitor’s platform just isn’t good business. Bringing it “home”, so to speak, is potentially far more lucrative for NBC Universal.
“The Office has become a staple of pop-culture and is a rare gem whose relevance continues to grow at a time when fans have more entertainment choices than ever before,” said Bonnie Hammer, chairman of NBC Universal direct-to-consumer and digital enterprises. “We can’t wait to welcome the gang from Dundler Mifflin to NBC Universal’s new streaming service.”
It’s also a move in line with other direct-to-consumer products. After The Walt Disney Company announced they were building a platform of their own, the House of Mouse decided to end its relationship with Netflix as well and as other services pop up, those companies will likely also seek to move their content away from Netflix and onto their proprietary platforms.
And when it comes that streaming service, details on that are still limited. Reports from earlier this year suggest the new platform will be available for around $12, with an ad-supported version of the service reportedly available to pay-TV subscribers at no additional charge.
For now, all nine seasons of The Office are available on Netflix. The series is scheduled to remain on the streaming service through the end of 2020.
What do you think about the petition to keep The Office on Netflix? Let us know in the comments below.
