CMCSA Comcast Corporation

By Joe Flint 

Comcast Corp.'s NBCUniversal said its hit comedy "The Office" will be exclusively available on the company's coming streaming-video service beginning in 2021, meaning Netflix Inc. will lose the rights to what is currently its most-viewed program.

Terms of the five-year deal weren't disclosed. Netflix had paid $100 million for its current multiyear deal.

"The Office" has been the No. 1 show on Netflix for years, accounting for 52 billion viewing minutes in 2018.

In a tweet, Netflix said: "We're sad that NBC has decided to take The Office back for its own streaming platform -- but members can binge watch the show to their hearts' content ad-free on Netflix until January 2021."

Reruns such as "The Office" have been critical to the success of Netflix. Other popular reruns on Netflix could also leave the platform, as NBCUniversal and other media companies, including Walt Disney Co. and AT&T Inc.'s WarnerMedia, launch their own streaming services and look to bring back hit shows to their platforms.

Another hit rerun on "Netflix," the comedy "Friends," could leave Netflix at the end of this year and move to a forthcoming WarnerMedia streaming platform.

Write to Joe Flint at joe.flint@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 25, 2019 19:11 ET (23:11 GMT)

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