Why is Netflix turning into regular TV?

In a lot of ways, the streaming wars are over. There are still loads of services battling for the eyes of audiences, but nobody had the might to topple Netflix — despite the deep pockets of Amazon and Apple — and so a steady truce appears to have settled in.

But there’s something strange going on at Netflix. British TV fans will notice the streamer’s catalogue filling up with shows they’ve seen before. It might be a Sheridan Smith drama or a documentary about the inside of a supermarket chain. It might even be the 2007 Billie Piper drama Secret Diary of a Call Girl, which originally aired on ITV2.

Of course, this strategy is nothing new for the big streaming platforms. But it definitely appears to have accelerated in recent months. The new frontier of the streaming wars would appear to be the output of ITV in the mid-2000s. Who saw that coming?

Why does Netflix buy old TV shows?

The reason this happens is simple. It’s cheaper to buy old shows than it is to make new ones. While something like the splashy, ambitious sci-fi series 3 Body Problem costs tens of millions of pounds to produce, it might only require a few thousand pounds to secure something from the archive that lots of people will then go to watch.

Read more: Why is the Netflix Basic plan being removed in the UK and what’s replacing it? (Yahoo Entertainment)

Richard Osman and Marina Hyde noted this in an April episode of their podcast The Rest is Entertainment. Osman pointed out that the ITV drama Cleaning Up, starring the aforementioned Sheridan Smith, landed high in the Netflix charts after it debuted on the platform. It had originally aired in 2019 to decent reviews and good but unremarkable viewing figures.

“It will have cost Netflix 40 grand to buy it,” said Osman. “It is a bigger show than 3 Body Problem.”

Osman, who is working with Netflix on the film adaptation of his book The Thursday Murder Club, speculated that this is symptomatic of a big shift in the way Netflix approaches its output. They are now “relying” on the likes of the BBC and ITV to provide them with shows.

“I think it’s turned from the creator’s channel into the viewer’s channel,” Osman said. “Now it’s a channel that says we want ratings and we want as many people to watch that. They are understanding that spending £40,000 buying Cleaning Up with Sheridan Smith … they are viewer-first now, rather than creator-first.”

Read more: Sheridan Smith not returning for Gavin & Stacey Christmas special (PA Media)

There’s evidence that this strategy is working. Cleaning Up did huge numbers on the platform and Secret Diary of a Call Girl hovered around the Netflix charts for several weeks. At the time of writing, the second most-viewed TV programme of the day on Netflix in the UK is the docuseries Depp v. Heard — licensed from Channel 4.

Does this happen on other streaming services?

This sort of licensing is very lucrative and has always been a part of the playbook across streaming services. Long-running dramas and sitcoms — including Brooklyn 99, The Big Bang Theory, and The US Office — are particularly prized due to their rewatch value. Prime Video is also particularly active in licensing TV shows for its catalogue.

Interestingly, we’re now seeing some movement in the other direction, from the global big boys to the smaller local services. Several shows that started on Disney+ — including Extraordinary and Under the Banner of Heaven — are now available in the UK via ITVX.

Read more: Netflix Added Nearly 9 Million Subs in Its ‘Suits’ Quarter (IndieWire)

Meanwhile, BBC iPlayer has been hoovering up the international editions of The Traitors, as well as every episode of the original and rebooted Gossip Girl. They’ve even secured the UK rights to legal drama Suits, which was the most-streamed show on Netflix in 2023, despite concluding in 2019.

Increasingly, streaming catalogues are like a grab-bag of material from the past and present of TV. Netflix, for example, just offered me the early-2000s ITV drama Fat Friends as its main recommendation when I logged in. The service also boasts, to name just a few: 24 Hours in Lidl, Inside Greggs 24/7, 24 Hours in Tesco, and Costco: Is It Really Worth It?

It’s a fascinating shift in the way streaming services like Netflix present themselves. In some ways, it’s great: shining a light on forgotten gems of British TV’s past and giving them a whole new audience. But also, you can’t help but think we’ve come a long way from Stranger Things and The Crown.

Read more: Netflix and Amazon Dominate Commissioning by Streamers, Tilting the Content Market Away From U.S., Towards Local (Variety)

The new frontier of the streaming wars is a very different one. It’s not about who can spend the most money on movie stars and big-name directors. It’s about who can put together the best combination of rewatchable sitcoms and shows that make you say: “Oh I remember them talking about that on This Morning a few years ago”.

It’s not worse, necessarily. But it’s certainly different.