WarnerMedia Group announced Tuesday it has acquired the rights to the hit series “The Big Bang Theory” for its future online video platform HBO Max, in a new episode of a war of content to unprecedented intensity.
Every day his offensive. On Monday, it is Netflix who announced to have recovered the rights of the series “Seinfeld”, after having abandoned those of “Friends” and “The Office”.
On Tuesday, WarnerMedia, which has already dropped “Friends” in its purse, announced the acquisition, for five years, the 279 episodes of “The Big Bang Theory”, the last part was released mid-May, for its future streaming offer, called HBO Max, announced for spring 2020.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the subsidiary of the telecom operator AT & T would have put on the table nearly 500 million dollars. Asked by AFP, WarnerMedia refused to comment on the sum.
“The fact that we are offering (the series) for the first time on a streaming platform in the United States is a big boost for our new offering,” said Robert Greenblatt, president of WarnerMedia Entertainment and the direct offering. to consumers, quoted in a statement.
Huzzah! HBO Max nabs exclusive streaming rights to #BigBangTheory and TBS extends its cable window through 2028. All 12 seasons of the hit comedy to be available at launch on HBO Max in spring 2020: https://t.co/PGylmOLrbM pic.twitter.com/A9lEwTdLmE
— WarnerMedia (@WarnerMediaGrp) September 17, 2019
Until this year, the platform landscape in the US was occupied mainly by Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu, now controlled by Disney.
But from November 1 and by the end of 2020, the launch of Apple TV +, Disney +, HBO Max and the offer of NBCUniversal group, which will transform the American streaming battlefield.
Each player invests billions of dollars in new content but also tries to expand its portfolio by buying the exclusivity of existing successful series.