‘Seinfeld’ Coming to Netflix Globally in October 2021

https://flixdown.com/seinfeld-coming-to-netflix-globally-in-october-2021

Seinfeld is coming to Netflix and despite it leaving Hulu in June, it’s finally hitting Netflix on October 1st, 2021.

You may recall that Netflix, the worldwide distributor of Seinfeld announced in September 2019 it was buying the rights to the Seinfeld show from Sony. Netflix was reportedly competing against NBC Universal (Peacock), HBO Max (Peacock), and Hulu for streaming rights that would expire in 2021.

The series that aired from 1989 to 1998 on NBC has been in high demand since they were streamed to streaming platforms. This created a license goldmine for those studios who are willing to license them.

However, most studios have decided to reclaim licensing in the US, at least Friends. Warner now has exclusive rights to Friends. The Office is now on Peacock. It is not the same story outside of America.

When it was originally announced the Seinfeld would be coming to Hulu in April 2015, it was then delayed and didn’t touch down on Hulu until June 26th, 2015. It was a huge deal, with each episode valued at $875k and the package totaling $160 million. While we don’t know how much Netflix has paid, given the market it’s likely it eclipses that number. Hulu, according to Deadline, wasn’t looking to renew the title given that while it performed OK, it accounted for less than 1% of all viewing.

Below is a tweet from Hulu that confirms the date for Seinfeld's removal.

Despite originally expected to release in June it didn’t arrive. Rumors then circulated for September 2021 but now it’s confirmed all 180 episodes will arrive on October 1st, 2021.

Which Netflix region will show Seinfeld 2021?

Netflix acquired global streaming rights for the series, so that the series will be available in all regions.

Seinfeld may be ending in some regions as early as February 2021, depending on the platforms. It’s yet to arrive on Netflix in those regions, however.

What number of episodes will Seinfeld be available on Netflix?

Netflix will soon have all 180 episodes from nine seasons which aired on NBC.

Which format will Seinfeld appear on Netflix?

Netflix will receive all of its episodes in an enhanced format, which will show up to 4K depending on the Netflix package. You may already know that Netflix offers a large selection of 4K titles. Most Netflix Originals were shot at this resolution. However, older titles are often displayed at lower resolutions.

Netflix will have the Shuffle Button for Seinfeld

It’s unclear but unlikely that Netflix will have one of the other nice features Hulu provided for Seinfeld. We’re referring to a special shuffle button that Hulu implemented whereby you can randomly drop into an episode. Netflix has never implemented such a feature for any show and it’s unlikely too for Seinfeld either.

Netflix will Netflix be able to share the Community feature with Hulu?

Another of Netflix’s recent pickups has been Community (also from Sony Pictures) but in that scenario, it shared the streaming rights with Hulu. According to all reports, Netflix will own the rights.

Do you look forward to Seinfeld being on Netflix? Comment below.