After Friends debuted on Netflix, the last remaining holy grail of sitcoms that remained up for grabs was Seinfeld. That is, until late Tuesday. Hulu has scored the rights to one of the most beloved sitcoms of all time.
A source told The Wall Street Journal that Hulu paid around $700,000 per episode, although Variety rounded up to near $1 million. Considering that there are 180 episodes of the series, that means that Hulu paid nearly $180 million for the series.
Amazon and Yahoo also showed interest, as did Netflix. But when Netflix agreed to spend $500,000 an episode for Friends, the streaming service dropped out.
Sony Pictures TV handles distribution of Seinfeld, although it was produced by Warner Bros.’ Castle Rock Entertainment. Therefore, the $180 million will be split among Sony Pictures TV, Castle Rock and profit participants like star/co-creator Jerry Seinfeld and co-creator Larry David.
Seinfeld reruns are on TBS and the series is available on DVD. The series ran from 1989-1998 and won 10 Emmys.
Hulu is owned by 21st Century Fox, Comcast and Disney. The premium Hulu Plus service is $7.99 a month, but still includes commercials. Perhaps the hefty price tag for Seinfeld means that the company finally has the money to get rid of those.