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In February 2024, Netflix joined with Peter Morgan, creator of Netflix series The Crown, to produce the play Patriots on Broadway. On October 12, Netflix signed to build a production complex at Fort Monmouth in Eatontown, New Jersey. On October 11, Netflix signed up with the Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board for external measurement of viewership in the UK.
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In early-August 2019, Netflix negotiated an exclusive multi-year film and television deal with Game of Thrones creators and showrunners David Benioff and D.B. In December 2018, the company announced a partnership with ESPN Films on a television documentary chronicling Michael Jordan and the 1997–98 Chicago Bulls season titled The Last Dance. In November 2018, Paramount Pictures signed a multi-picture film deal with Netflix, making Paramount the first major film studio to do so. In August 2018, the company signed a five-year exclusive overall deal with international best-selling author Harlan Coben. In December 2017, Netflix signed Stranger Things director-producer Shawn Levy and his production company 21 Laps Entertainment to what sources say is a four-year deal. Netflix released an estimated 30 original series or films over that year, more than any network or cable channel.
As of July 2024, Netflix has over 80 games in development, releasing at least one game each month to attract fans. The company acquired Night School Studio, an independent video game developer, in September 2021. Verdu said in October 2022 that besides continuing to expand its portfolio of games, it was also interested in cloud gaming options. In July 2026, Netflix aired the MLB Home Run Derby for the first time as part of its three-year media rights agreement with Major League Baseball.
In 2020, Netflix earned 24 Academy Award nominations, marking the first time a streaming service led all studios. The House of Cards episode “Chapter 1” received four nominations for both the 65th Primetime Emmy Awards and 65th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards, becoming the first episode of a streaming television series to receive a major Primetime Emmy Award nomination. In August 2023, the company announced Netflix Stories, a collection of interactive narrative games from Netflix series and movies such as Love is Blind, Money Heist, and Virgin River.
In 2026, Netflix began to premiere its own original podcasts, including The Pete Davidson Show, The White House with Michael Irvin, Allegedly with Ellison Barber, Shut Up Evan with Evan Ross Katz, We’re Back! On February 26, 2026, WBD agreed to be acquired by Paramount Skydance for $31 per-share, valuing the company at $111 billion. In November 2024, Netflix announced it would discontinue further work on interactive specials and remove all but four of them from the platform, citing a desire to focus on “technological efforts in other areas”. The spaces would feature retail shops, restaurants, and other interactive experiences related to Netflix Original content, building upon other “pop-up” initiatives to promote individual programs.
- OITNB would premiere in July 2013; Netflix stated that OITNB had been its most-watched original series so far, with all of them having “an audience comparable with successful shows on cable and broadcast TV.”
- Also on the same day, Netflix announced an Exploding Kittens mobile card game tied to a new animated TV series, which would launch in May.
- The company also formed a partnership with Japan’s Studio Colorido, signing a multi-film deal to boost its anime content in Asia.
- Each of the four series received an initial order of 13 episodes, and Netflix also ordered a Defenders miniseries that would tie them together.
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On April 28, the company launched its inaugural Netflix Is a Joke comedy festival, featuring more than 250 shows over 12 nights at 30-plus locations across Los Angeles, including the first-ever stand-up show at Dodger Stadium. It would provide a one-time grant of $250,000 to female producers and directors in the Arab world through the company’s Fund for Creative Equity. In March 2022, Netflix announced a partnership with Dr. Seuss Enterprises to produce five new series and specials based on Seuss properties following the success of Green Eggs and Ham.
Netflix began with more focus on sports-related documentaries, like the popular Drive To Survive series, before moving toward live-action sports with one-off events. Distributors that have licensed content to Netflix include Warner Bros., Universal Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment and previously The Walt Disney Studios. It keeps licensing rights, which normally give production companies future revenue opportunities from syndication, merchandising, etc. Netflix funds its original shows differently than other TV networks when it signs a project, providing the money upfront and immediately ordering two seasons of most series.
In September 2020, Netflix signed a multi-million dollar deal with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. The company oversaw several renovations at the theater, including new seats and a concession stand. Also in November 2019, Netflix announced it had signed a long-term lease to save the Paris Theatre, the last single-screen movie theater in Manhattan. In July 2019, Netflix announced it would be opening a hub at Shepperton Studios as part of a deal with Pinewood Group. On January 22, 2019, Netflix sought and was approved for membership into the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), making it the first streaming service to join the association. In July 2018, Netflix earned the most Emmy nominations of any network for the first time with 112 nods.
That same month, Netflix entered into an exclusive development deal with Shonda Rhimes and her production company Shondaland. In April 2016, Hastings stated that the company planned to expand its in-house, Los Angeles-based Netflix Studios to grow its output; Hastings ruled out any potential acquisitions of existing studios. In January 2016, at the Consumer Electronics Show, Netflix announced a major international expansion of its service into 130 additional countries, making it available worldwide except in China, Syria, North Korea, Kosovo, non gamstop casinos UK and Crimea.
