Netflix Licenses Video From Top Publishers
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- Netflix announced licensing partnerships with Penske Media's PMX unit, BuzzFeed Studios, Condé Nast, Hearst Magazines, People Inc. and Tastemade to bring publisher-produced video onto its streaming platform
- Content launches Aug. 3 in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, with episode lengths ranging from 2-3 minutes to 20-plus minutes across news, feature, lifestyle and how-to genres
- Variety's "How Well Do They Know?" series, which challenges actors and musicians to identify their own past dialogue or lyrics, is among the first slate of featured programming
- John Derderian, Netflix's VP of animation series and kids & family TV, said the deals let members "carry those stories with them throughout the day" beyond the final credits of a show
- Other PMX brands in the deal include Billboard, Eater, Indiewire, Rolling Stone and The Hollywood Reporter, while specific titles span People's "My Life in Pictures," Travel + Leisure's "Travel Unfiltered," Harper's Bazaar's "Burning Questions," Tastemade's "Struggle Meals" and Vanity Fair's "Lie Detector"
- The pact lands as Netflix continues diversifying beyond traditional streaming into video games, podcasts and live events
Why it matters: This move slots publisher-made, short-form video — the format YouTube and TikTok dominate — directly into Netflix's library at no production cost, giving subscribers a reason to keep browsing between scripted hits. For the six publisher groups, it plants their brands inside Netflix's installed base across six English-speaking markets without building their own distribution.
