In a case of life imitating art, Netflix — the streaming service that’s long brought an end to cable — is now getting into the linear game. Starting next summer, Netflix will start streaming France’s biggest commercial broadcaster TF1 Group’s channels to its French subscribers.

For the first time, Netflix will be serving up a steady stream of linear television programming to users who previously had access only to on-demand content.

It’s a development that continues the convergence of streaming and linear TV, which isn’t going anywhere.

TF1 Channels, 30,000+ Hours of Content Heading to Netflix

Beginning next summer, French Netflix subscribers will be able to watch five TF1 linear channels, meaning the launch of live TV on the streamer for the first time. But that’s not the only aspect of the deal. By 2026, Netflix will host more than 30,000 hours of on-demand content from TF1.

That means that subscribers in France will be able to watch shows such as the reality TV series The Voice, dramas, live sports and entertainment all on Netflix, whether in real-time or on demand.

The partnership between the two companies, first reported by the Financial Times, sounds like a blast from the past. But in reality, it’s a forward-thinking move for both parties.

For Netflix, it’s a way to boost engagement with its platform and keep viewers tuned in as competition heats up across the streaming landscape. For TF1, it’s a way to tap into a new audience and create new advertising revenue streams.

The two companies have worked together on content before — for example, Netflix released the historical French drama Les Combattantes (Women at War) in 2020 — but this deal is on a whole new level.

The value of the deal has not been disclosed. But both sides appear to be pleased — and have no plans to treat it as an experiment.

“It is a step forward to help engage our members even more deeply with Netflix,” Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters said of the deal. “The fact that we can partner with France’s biggest broadcaster means that we can give consumers in France even more reasons to come to Netflix every day and stay with us for all of their entertainment.”

As for the upside for TF1, it can run ads during its linear programming, which now has the potential to reach Netflix’s huge user base. That’s an additional monetization avenue and the ability to reach a wider audience for French advertisers.

TF1 Group CEO Rodolphe Belmer described the deal as “unprecedented” in a statement. The partnership, he said, will allow TF1 to tap into a new audience as media becomes more fragmented, while also complementing TF1’s existing service TF1+ and its global distribution.

Belmer didn’t shy away from the reality of where linear television finds itself today.

“Linear TV is in secular decline,” he said. “We’ve tried to compensate for that… and we are now trying to latch on to and benefit from the powerful tailwind that is Netflix.”

The move may even help Netflix satisfy a French law that mandates that streaming services invest between 20% and 25% of revenue generated in the country on local content. The TF1 deal works well with the government’s requirements.

TF1’s figures are substantial. The broadcaster’s channels attract about 58 million monthly viewers, while TF1+ attracts 35 million users per month. Netflix has over 10 million subscribers in France, as co-CEO Ted Sarandos noted in 2022.

The opportunity for expansion is clear. If this arrangement is a success, Netflix could pursue similar deals in other parts of Europe — or in the U.S. Peters said that Netflix is open to pursuing such agreements, but wants to see how this one performs first.

The shift toward streaming is also gaining steam. Just this week, Nielsen said that streaming claimed 44.8% of all television viewing in May, surpassing cable (24.1%) and broadcast (20.1%) for the first time since Nielsen began tracking the data in 2021.

Other linear channels are already leaning into streaming — YouTube TV, for instance, was mentioned in the Financial Times article as a potential partner. The Netflix-TF1 arrangement cuts out the middleman and goes directly into the homes of millions.

It could even become a template for struggling linear networks looking to stay relevant — and generate revenue — in a streaming-first world.

“Many French consumers already consider Netflix as their source for television, and now they will get to watch it in a more real-time setting,” Peters said.

That sentiment will be truer than ever.