Netflix has been dropping content left and right in recent months. Some of this content has been dropped so that Netflix can replace it with original TV programming and movies that will have a longer life on the streaming service. However, some of this content isn't leaving Netflix because Netflix no longer wants to shell out cash for it; instead, some of this content is leaving Netflix of its own free will. Recent reports indicate that HGTV and other channels, like the Food Network, the Travel Channel, the Cooking Channel, and DIY will all see content disappearing from the subscription streaming service, and soon.
Normally, at the beginning of the month, we get a list of stuff that is coming and leaving Netflix. This list often includes a few TV shows, but at the end of the year, we expect a very different email because a lot of shows from a lot of different networks are going to disappear. Scripps Network Interactive, which owns all of the aforementioned networks, has decided it no longer wants a partnership with Netflix. Per Fox News, the company looked at their earnings on traditional networks and the monetary gain they were also pulling from Netflix and decided it wasn't really working out. Here's the direct quote from the HGTV parent company's COO Burton Jablin.
We assessed and analyzed the S-VOD [streaming video-on-demand] universe and have made the strategic decision not to extend our S-VOD agreement with Netflix past the end of this year. In the end, it is really not the kind of dual revenue model that best monetizes our content over the long-term.
Unfortunately, this means that episodes of a lot of popular shows are going to be leaving Netflix. First and foremost, users will have to say goodbye to Fixer Upper, the Waco, Texas rehabbing series starring Chip and Joanna Gaines that has nabbed a lot of attention over the years and is prepping to premiere its fourth season later this month. We'll also have to say goodbye to the cast of Property Brothers, Love It or List It and more---and that's just the HGTV shows.
Episodes of popular properties from other networks, including Food Network Star and Worst Cooks In America will also be leaving the service. For some of these Scripps Network Interactive Shows, this won't be as big of a deal. For instance, Netflix only had a selection of House Hunters episodes that have occasionally been swapped out, anyway, but for other shows, entire seasons or series will be missing.
People have been talking for years about how adding content to a subscription streaming service could theoretically keep some households from making the investment in traditional cable. However, the short term gains the major networks have been making by selling stuff to Netflix or Hulu or whatever had until recently trumped any long-term planning. Then, last year, HGTV was one of the most viable cable properties out there, and even saw major ratings increases in a landscape that has been seeing live TV viewership drop.
It may not make sense for every channel to drop out of the streaming game, but while the going is still good, HGTV and other channels are going to try to pull as many live numbers as possible and make profit elsewhere. To find out what just left the streaming service, take a look at our list for November.
