Though the quality of exclusive content being put out by streaming services makes “cancel your subscription” an ever-increasingly difficult button to press, this news may push fans of The Office over the paywall edge.
According to Deadline, NBCUniversal announced today that it’s secured the exclusive domestic streaming rights to all nine seasons of the mockumentary sitcom for a five-year period. In short, that means that Michael Scott and company will be packing up their bags at Netflix and heading over to NBCU’s new service, which is expected to launch in mid-2020.
Unlike the new streaming programs to be released from Disney, WarnerMedia, and Apple, the NBCU one will be totally free – but supported, of course, by advertisements. From the moment it goes live in the next year or so, it’ll have reached over 50 million homes through Comcast and Sky.
So, that means that we’ll be able to catch Dwight’s constant bickering, Jim and Pam’s love story, and Michael’s inappropriate antics all for free. And it sounds like NBCU’s super happy to have the show come back home.
“The Office has become a staple of pop-culture and is a rare gem whose relevance continues to grow at a time when fans have more entertainment choices than ever before,” said Bonnie Hammer, Chairman of NBCUniversal Direct-to-Consumer and Digital Enterprises. “We can’t wait to welcome the gang from Dunder Mifflin to NBCUniversal’s new streaming service.”
This move’ll surely add some fire to the streaming competition, though the extent to which Netflix, the king, will be affected has yet to be seen. The media giant’s got plenty of other content to fall back on, including an incredible string of original programming, and an increasingly-bonafide film studio.
But those who maybe can’t afford Netflix, or refuse to pay their gradual up-charges will surely be happy that there’s another way to watch The Office.