Landmark deal brings TV to Netflix in France
Netflix has signed a landmark deal with a French broadcaster that will see commercial TV stations come to the platform for the first time, marking a major shift for both linear TV and the streamer.
Netflix has entered into a “new kind of partnership” with French TV network TF1 that will see its five commercial free-to-air stations available with the Netflix app. The deal also includes on-demand programming.
TF1 is the largest television network in France, commanding around a quarter of the audience share in France. Netflix said the deal means that French viewers will be able to jump from its programming to TF1 shows, like The Voice, “without ever having to leave the service”.
The deal was announced in France at the Cannes Lions advertising conference, with Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters calling it “a first-of-its-kind partnership that plays to our strengths of giving audiences the best entertainment alongside the best discovery experience.”
Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters and TF1 chief Rodolphe Belmer in Cannes.
No financial details were revealed, including whether this is a revenue-sharing arrangement or a straight distribution deal.
The stations will join Netflix in mid-2026, and should prove an interesting test case for other markets. Netflix has flirted with live streaming TV over recent years, but mostly in the sporting arena.
Last year, Netflix signed a US-based deal with the NFL to live stream the league’s two Christmas Day games in 2024, and at least one holiday game a year in 2025 and 2026.
It also locked in a reported US$5 billion, decade-long deal with wrestling league WWE for the exclusive rights to its flagship TV show, Monday Night Raw, a deal that extends across the US, Canada, UK, and Latin America. During an earnings call in April, the network said Raw was in the top ten most-watched Netflix shows in 29 countries.
Live television clearly works for the streaming service.
In the US, Netflix saw a 42.3% year-on-year spike in subscribers in the week leading up to the Mike Tyson v Jake Paul match, which was broadcast live and exclusively on Netflix last November. Netflix claimed the boxing match was the most-streamed sporting event in history, with viewership peaking at 65 million streams.
Next month in the US, Netflix will air a boxing rematch between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano.
65 million households tuned into Netflix’s exclusive Paul v Tyson bout.
In France, TF1 has already partnered with Netflix on a number of what CEO Rodolphe Belmer called “ambitious co-productions”, including ‘Les Combattantes’ and ‘Tout le bleu du ciel’.
Belmer told the Cannes crowd he was “delighted” by the new partnership.
“As viewing habits shift toward on-demand consumption and audience fragmentation increases, this unprecedented alliance will enable our premium content to reach unparalleled audiences and unlock new reach for advertisers.”
Netflix has live television firmly in its sights.
At the April earnings call, Peters pointed towards the future of the company.
“We’re very pleased with the progress so far and are excited about the future for live, both sports and non-sports.”
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Nathan Jolly is the Features Editor at Mumbrella. He joined the team in July, 2023.
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