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By May 2011, Netflix had become the largest source of Internet streaming traffic in North America, accounting for 30% of traffic during peak hours. Sony pushed Netflix to release Breaking Bad in time for the fourth season, which as a result, greatly expanded the show’s audience on AMC due to new viewers binging on past episodes via Netflix, and doubling its viewership by the time of the fifth season. In 2010, Netflix acquired the rights to Breaking Bad, produced by Sony Pictures Television, after the show’s third season, at a point where original broadcaster AMC had expressed the possibility of canceling the show. It spent $117 million in the first six months of 2010 on streaming, up from $31 million in 2009.

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Netflix stated that the redesign was meant to allow users to “have an easier time figuring out if a title is right for them”, and be more reflective of new types of content offerings such as sports and other live events. In May 2025, Netflix announced a redesign of its home screen for the first time since 2013, which has a simplified appearance with more prominent metadata, and replaces the sidebar menu with a streamlined section of tabs along the top of the screen. The games both averaged over 30 million global viewers and became the two most-streamed NFL games in American history, while simultaneously creating Netflix’s most-watched Christmas Day non gamstop casinos UK ever in the US. In December 2024, FIFA announced that Netflix would be the exclusive American broadcaster of the 2027 and 2031 FIFA Women’s World Cup, in what was deemed the platform’s most significant push into sports content.

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On July 21, Zack Snyder, director of Netflix’s Army of the Dead, announced he had signed his production company The Stone Quarry to a first-look deal with Netflix; his upcoming projects included a sequel to Army of the Dead and a sci-fi adventure film titled Rebel Moon. On July 14, 2021, Netflix signed a first-look deal with Joey King, star of The Kissing Booth franchise, in which King would produce and develop films for Netflix via her All The King’s Horses production company. In September 2019, in addition to renewing Stranger Things for a fourth season, Netflix signed The Duffer Brothers to an overall deal covering future film and television projects for the service. In May 2014, Netflix and Sony Pictures Animation had a major multi-deal to acquire streaming rights to produce films.

• In August 2023, the company announced Netflix Stories, a collection of interactive narrative games from Netflix series and movies such as Love is Blind, Money Heist, and Virgin River.
• In August 2012, Netflix and The Weinstein Company signed a multi-year output deal for RADiUS-TWC films.
• It was released internationally on Netflix and became available for streaming in the US three months after a broadcast airing on ESPN.
• That same month, amid a restructuring of its animation division, Netflix announced a multi-film agreement with Skydance Animation beginning with Spellbound (2024).
• Through this agreement, Netflix will stream all 47 games of the 2026 World Baseball Classic live and on-demand for its users in Japan.
• Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service.

In early-August 2019, Netflix negotiated an exclusive multi-year film and television deal with Game of Thrones creators and showrunners David Benioff and D.B. In December 2018, the company announced a partnership with ESPN Films on a television documentary chronicling Michael Jordan and the 1997–98 Chicago Bulls season titled The Last Dance. In November 2018, Paramount Pictures signed a multi-picture film deal with Netflix, making Paramount the first major film studio to do so. In August 2018, the company signed a five-year exclusive overall deal with international best-selling author Harlan Coben. In December 2017, Netflix signed Stranger Things director-producer Shawn Levy and his production company 21 Laps Entertainment to what sources say is a four-year deal. Netflix released an estimated 30 original series or films over that year, more than any network or cable channel.

Netflix began with more focus on sports-related documentaries, like the popular Drive To Survive series, before moving toward live-action sports with one-off events. Distributors that have licensed content to Netflix include Warner Bros., Universal Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment and previously The Walt Disney Studios. It keeps licensing rights, which normally give production companies future revenue opportunities from syndication, merchandising, etc. Netflix funds its original shows differently than other TV networks when it signs a project, providing the money upfront and immediately ordering two seasons of most series.

Also in May 2026, Netflix announced that the ads tier had reached 250 million monthly active viewers. This included contributing $325 billion to the global economy, investing $135 billion in the TV and film industry, and creating 425,000 jobs. In May 2026, the company released “The Netflix Effect,” outlining the impact since the company expanded to more than 190 countries in 2016.