Netflix Won't Sell Originals to Rival Streamers Like HBO and Disney

The Netflix library is not for sale. This month, Warner Bros. Discovery entered into a licensing agreement with Netflix that sent HBO original Insecure to the rival streamer with five more titles to follow: Band of Brothers, Ballers, Six Feet Under, The Pacific, and True Blood (outside of the U.S.). The move — which comes after the merged company removed HBO's Westworld from its own streaming platform and shopped it to FAST (free ad-supported television) services Roku and Tubi — was a financial decision as part of CEO David Zaslav's $3.5 billion cost-cutting measures. 

"We've always have found that we offer this content to our members in an unbelievable value on Netflix as now," Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said during an earnings call when asked if the streamer might license its content to competitors. "And then, almost anywhere else we put it, there's either a crossover, and they otherwise have Netflix account or have a much smaller viewing base. We think we're taking the right course in terms of offering the content to our members and having it around even after its original run on Netflix."

Sarandos' comments come after The Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger said this week that Disney is open to selling television channels that "may not be core" to the company, including the ABC network, FX, Freeform, and National Geographic. During an appearance on CNBC, Iger also said that licensing Disney's content to other streaming services is "a possibility" as the company looks to cut spending by about $5.5 billion. "I won't rule it out," Iger said. 

"The syndication market, home video markets that continue to exist today are kind of contracting in a way that isn't too exciting to build up against versus this opportunity we have to please our members and thrill our members with our content all the way back through the history of our content," Sarandos told investors Wednesday. The executive pointed to the Chris Hemsworth-starring Extraction 2, which landed on the service in June and drove subscribers to watch — or rewatch — 2020's Extraction.

"When Extraction 2 just did so well for us this past quarter, Extraction 1 popped right back up into the top 10," Sarandos said. "We've seen that a lot with new seasons of shows like when [Bridgerton spin-off] Queen Charlotte hit the top 10, here comes Bridgerton [season] 1 and Bridgerton [season] 2. So, it's a very fluid and dynamic offering in that way. And it's even better, the deeper and richer that library becomes."

Netflix also quietly removed its Basic With Ads plan, which is "no longer available for new or rejoining members" as of July 19th.