Any interest in revisiting every single episode of Seinfeld? For the first time ever you’ll have the chance to binge watch the classic sitcom courtesy of Hulu because according to the LA Times, the streaming service just scored the rights to all 180 episodes from Sony Pictures TV in one of its biggest acquisitions ever.
No word on exactly how much Hulu had to hand over for the streaming video-on-demand rights, but the outlet’s source “with knowledge of the pact” claims that each episode is worth $700,000 to $1 million, which means Sony TV, Castle Rock and Seinfeld profit participants like Jerry Seinfeld are splitting just under $180 million. Apparently Netflix also expressed interest in taking the series at a point, but then it wound up spending $118 million on Friends instead.
Is spending the equivalent of a massive studio movie budget on 90s sitcom streaming rights the new trend? There likely isn’t much that would cost more than Seinfeld out there, but there are loads of old shows that could have very promising futures in the streaming format. There was that rumor that The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was coming to Netflix a few months back. It was eventually proven false, but it’d make sense for Netflix, Hulu or one of their competitors to snatch that one up. (I know I've got a habit of watching those episodes over and over again.)
What do you think? Are you ready to binge-watch 180 episodes of Seinfeld in June or is there another show you’re hoping to stream soon?
