Netflix to start streaming live TV for the first time
Netflix is to start broadcasting live TV for the first time as it continues to steal audiences from traditional channels.
The company has unveiled a 'new kind of partnership' with French broadcaster TF1 that will allow subscribers in the country to watch live TV, including top dramas, soaps and major sports matches.
The deal with France's largest commercial broadcaster underscores efforts by Netflix to keep subscribers on its platform and cement its position as the home of content.
It could pave the way for similar tie-ups elsewhere, including Britain, as the industry grapples with a shift to online viewing.
The BBC, ITV and Channel 4 are all struggling to retain audiences amid growing competition from rivals such as Netflix and Disney.
While the streaming giants initially shunned live programming, they have gradually moved into the format by buying up the rights to major sporting and entertainment events, such as Netflix's $5bn WWE deal.
However, Netflix's tie-up with TF1 marks the first time a streaming service has carried live channels in full.
Fight-back
It marks a shift in approach from a legacy broadcaster too. Most have tried to compete, rather than partner, with streaming giants by building their own platforms.
ITV, Channel 4 and Sky this week announced plans to combine their online advertising spots in an attempt to fight back in an increasingly competitive market.
Greg Peters, co-chief executive of Netflix, said: 'This is a first-of-its-kind partnership that plays to our strengths of giving audiences the best entertainment alongside the best discovery experience.
'By teaming up with France's leading broadcaster we will provide French consumers with even more reasons to come to Netflix every day and to stay with us for all their entertainment.'
For TF1, which is behind scripted dramas such as Brocéliande and Erica, as well as the French version of reality show The Voice, the deal signals efforts to collaborate with streaming rivals in a bid to win back viewers and generate more revenues.
Netflix subscribers will have access to all five of TF1's free-to-air channels, as well as more than 30,000 hours of on-demand programming on its TF1+ streaming service.
However, it also risks leaving the broadcaster, which reaches 58m monthly viewers on its broadcast channels, increasingly reliant on its streaming rival. Terms of the partnership, which will begin next summer, were not disclosed.
Rodolphe Belmer, chief executive of TF1 Group, said: 'I am delighted about this new partnership with Netflix, with whom we have already established strong relationships through ambitious co-productions in recent months.
'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 within an ecosystem that perfectly complements our TF1+ platform.'
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