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Netflix confirms Friends is leaving: How long do you have to watch?

ByAlexandria Ingham|
E364703 04: Matthew Perry, Courteney Cox Arquette, Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer and Lisa Kudrow star in Friends during year 6. (Courtesy of Warner Bros.)
E364703 04: Matthew Perry, Courteney Cox Arquette, Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer and Lisa Kudrow star in Friends during year 6. (Courtesy of Warner Bros.)

Friends is definitely leaving Netflix. It’s been confirmed, while WarnerMedia shares its own streaming service name and programming. How long do you have?

It’s time to say goodbye. Well, okay, not quite yet, but it is time to get ready for the goodbye. Netflix has confirmed that Friends will leave its streaming service in the not-too-distant future.

You’ve got less than six months to stream the 236 episodes of Friends on Netflix. At the start of 2020, the series will be gone. And it’s not because Netflix is unwilling to spend money on the sitcom. We can thank WarnerMedia for this.

Earlier this year, Netflix spent $100m to keep the 118 hours of episodes because the show is just that popular. It’s one of the most binge-watched third-party shows, with The Office not that far behind (another show leaving in 2020). Netflix wants to keep it, but WarnerMedia has other plans.

The production giant is getting into the streaming wars, unveiling its streaming platform’s name today. It will be called HBO Max and didn’t waste time in marketing the platform as the exclusive home for streaming Friends. Arguably, it does make sense for WarnerMedia to make the episodes available exclusively, but it’s annoying for viewers.

We now have to spend yet more money on another streaming platform. Netflix doesn’t think it will lose out too much because of its growing list of originals, but there’s no doubt that people turn to the original streamer for this type of third-party content. Those who subscribe to watch Friends only are likely to cancel their subscription and sign up to the new HBO Max.

One thing that Netflix has also confirmed, though, is that this is U.S. only. This makes it sound like WarnerMedia’s HBO Max is only going to be release in the U.S. — at least for now — in spring 2020. The international deals will still stand, so those streaming in Canada, Australia, UK, and elsewhere, will get to keep the episodes for the time being.

What do you think about the growing streaming wars and Friends leaving Netflix? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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