Copyright NBC and Warner Brothers.
“I’ll be there for you,” fans in the UK can sleep easy tonight knowing that Friends will NOT be leaving Netflix UK! Let us tell you why.
Subscribers have been sent into meltdown recently as multiple outlets have been reporting that Friends would be leaving Netflix. These news sources have forgotten to tell you that each region has different licensing laws. While it is highly likely that Friends in the US will eventually leave due to the eventual release of Warner’s streaming service, this won’t apply to the UK just yet.
Rampant fans have been tweeting at Netflix all day to get some clarity on the future of Friends and thankfully we can report that the official Netflix UK & Ireland account tweeted to confirm that Friends is going nowhere.
The One Where Friends is Going Nowhere, Don’t Worry https://t.co/z5cxunwHA2
— Netflix UK & Ireland (@NetflixUK) 3 December 2018
Why isn’t Friends leaving Netflix UK?
As we briefly touched upon above it all comes down to licensing. Netflix UK currently has the license to exclusively stream Friends in the UK. While the show is available on Comedy Central you can’t stream it from the network. Netflix has the habit of renewing licenses for shows on a yearly basis, therefore, we can expect Friends to be around for of least the foreseeable future!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCExxOsqQ9Q
What about the US?
In a recent article, we have spoken about the status of Friends on Netflix US. But to give a brief rundown we are yet to see actual evidence that Friends will be leaving on January 1st. If you check the details of the show when you next login if it is set to leave within a month then a scheduled to leave date will be seen. While this could change imminently at the time of writing the show is NOT listed as leaving.
Just to clarify though that the likelihood of Friends leaving Netflix US is very high. The renewal for Friends is coming up but if Warner goes ahead with their plans to release its streaming service in 2019 then we’ll have to say goodbye to our beloved Friends in the US.
Are you happy that Friends is here to stay Netflix UK? Let us know in the comments below!
