Netflix may entice its subscribers to chill, but the global streamer is working on new offerings and deals to future-proof its content lineup and business. In line with that, it made notable headlines on Wednesday, unveiling a carriage deal with French broadcaster TF1 at Cannes Lions that will see Netflix offering live broadcasts and on-demand content from the partner starting in the summer of 2026.
“This is a first-of-its-kind partnership that plays to our strengths of giving audiences the best entertainment alongside the best discovery experience,” said Greg Peters, co-CEO of Netflix. “By teaming up with France’s leading broadcaster, we will provide French consumers with even more reasons to come to Netflix every day and to stay with us for all their entertainment.”
How much of a game-changer the TF1 deal presents was a topic of industry discussion following the news, with several analysts predicting that more carriage and aggregation agreements in its vein would follow.
Some pointed out that TF1 CEO Rodolphe Belmer sat on the board of directors of Netflix from 2018 until 2022, namely until he was named the French giant’s boss. Last year, Netflix also partnered with France’s Newen Studios and TF1 to co-produce the streamer’s first-ever daily drama series for France. The series, Tout Pour La Lumière (All for Light), a family series set in the world of music and dance, became available on Netflix late last week before its free-to-air debut on TF1, along with its TF1+ platform, this week.
“This is a very innovative deal,” with “nothing of the sort elsewhere,” Enders Analysis analyst François Godard tells The Hollywood Reporter. “It pivots Netflix into aggregation.”
Will Netflix bring this approach to other markets? “They could,” the expert says. “They are a trial-and-error company. So maybe they will wait first to see how it goes in France.”
PP Foresight analyst Paolo Pescatore tells THR that for Netflix, the TF1 deal “makes perfect sense given its direction of travel.” He explains: “It is pivoting towards a platform for entertainment, and it was only a question of time before we saw typically big hits being streamed on the platform.”
For broadcasters and others, collaborating with the global streamer is also appealing. “Everyone wants to work and distribute with Netflix,” he says. “It is the undisputed market leader and paved the way for others. While rivals grapple to understand streaming and continue to figure out what to do with legacy businesses, Netflix remains one step ahead. Free-to-air broadcasters have got no choice but to either collaborate with each other as a final resort or partner with a streamer.”
Pescatore sees no losers in such carriage pacts. “It is a win-win for all parties,” he argues. “For free-to-air broadcasters, it gives them a new lease on life, for Netflix, a broad range of programming, and users [get] reduced fragmentation by having more in one place.”
The PP Foresight expert sees more deals ahead, adding: “This is the start, and we will now see a chain reaction with others looking to replicate this deal.”
