In a rather strange turn of events, Netflix, once championed for ‘ending’ the tyrannical reign of broadcast TV, is now entering the space itself. Kinda. As reported by the Financial Times, Netflix has found itself in a “landmark deal” with French television network TF1 to bring the broadcaster’s traditional content line-up to Netflix, effectively saving it from this hardcore streaming era, which it helped build.
Netflix will show all five of TF1’s traditional ‘linear’ channels on its own platform starting 2026, including major live sports and shows like The Voice — but only for those users in France. It’ll also hand over more than 30,000 hours of its content over to Netflix, which will be available on demand. Again, for the France-residing folk only.
Close enough. Welcome back, TV
Peters declined to comment on how it would be splitting up any advertising or subscriber revenues that the content generates. Users in France may be forced to pay an additional up-front fee or bolt on an extra fee to their monthly subscription to gain access to TF1’s content, though he once again refused to comment on this.
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Indeed, this will not affect any country besides France. Peters does, however, mention the possibility of expanding similarly to other territories, depending on how this goes. Sources “close to the deal” say that TF1 is ‘highly influential’ in the European broadcasting industry, and may sway others to follow in its lead.
So while DStv may still be in a position to avoid closing a deal like this for quite some thanks to the likes of SuperSport, it’s not out of the question that we could one day see a much more content-packed Netflix platform in South Africa, possibly one that includes everything from local cricket and rugby to Anaconda on eTV.
