The finale of the hit sitcom “Seinfeld” aired on May 14, 1998, and has been ubiquitous in reruns on cable and local TV stations ever since.
But more than 20 years later, its 180 episodes will soon become one of the hottest properties in television again. The streaming rights for “Seinfeld,” which has been available for streaming on Hulu since 2015, will be back on the market soon just as media conglomerates Comcast, WarnerMedia and Walt Disney Co. look to shore up content for their new direct-to-consumer streaming services aimed at taking on Netflix.
The demand for the 30-year-old series is the latest example of how streaming has altered not only viewing habits, but also unlocked the value of long-running TV shows that first became hits on the broadcast networks. With nearly 500 scripted TV shows currently in production, iconic shows from the pre-streaming era such as “Seinfeld,” “Friends” and “The Office” have become the heavy artillery used on the next front of the streaming wars.
After seeing Netflix eat away at their TV businesses, legacy media companies are targeting the streaming rights for shows that became hits at their studios and networks. And with good reason: They are proven entities that have the ability to capture a younger generation of viewers. Prying them from Netflix could force the streaming behemoth to depend more on original series, which are riskier and more costly to market at a time when the company’s subscriber growth has topped out in the U.S.
