In recent years, Netflix has removed many licensed and original shows from its platform. Although declining viewership is a contributing factor as to why shows go away, it’s quite shocking to see hit shows leave due to licensing battles. As new streaming platforms emerge, bidding on the rights to fan favorite shows has become big business and commonplace between streaming providers.
In 2020, WarnerMedia, which owns HBO and HBO Max, dished out $500 million to reclaim Friends. In 2021, NBC’s Peacock paid up the same for The Office (US). It might seem like a big payday for the streaming giant, but in the long run, is only hurting them.
By the end of the first quarter of 2022, Netflix reportedly lost 200,000 subscribers, their biggest loss in over a decade. It’s not a surprise that the decline is largely part of growing platforms like Disney+, HBO Max, Paramount+, and Peacock.
By the end of their 2022 third quarter, Disney+ subscriptions rose to 152.1 million. HBO, HBO Max, and Discovery+ are up 92.1 million. As competition grows, the blow from lost rights to licensed shows has only become more devastating to Netflix. Here are ten shows that left the platform and hurt Netflix the most.
Daredevil
One of the most shocking cuts to Netflix Originals, was that of Marvel’s Daredevil, which was stripped away from Netflix as it peaked viewership. According to the A.V. Club, Daredevil had 195 million minutes watched and was the 8th most-watched show on Netflix during the week of Dec. 20-26, 2021.
This spike was around the time that Charlie Cox made his debut as Matt Murdock/ Daredevil in the MCU during Spider-Man: No Way Home and the return of Vincent D’Onofrio as the Kingpin was revealed on Hawkeye.
This was an ingenious move on Disney’s part to strike while the iron is hot and move the property onto its platform while awareness of the character was at an all-time high, and rights were being converted only two months after Daredevil was introduced into the current MCU. Despite Daredevil’s popularity, it left Netflix in the end of February 2022 once its rights went back to Disney and went on Disney+ March 16th.
Once the licensing deal ended, it opened the opportunity for Disney to either move the Daredevil property to Disney+ or create its own show under Marvel Studios. Sure enough, in July 2022, Marvel Studios announced that it would create its own Daredevil show on Disney+, Dare Devil: Born Again, which will stream on the platform in 2024. Its title is intentionally apropos, not just for its character’s sake, but it comes at a time during its own resurrection on the self-proprietary platform.
Jessica Jones
Making its Netflix debut on Nov. 20, 2015, Jessica Jones was another Defender Series Original to be put on the chopping block due to licensing expiration with Disney. Like Daredevil, it was removed from the platform in February 2022, only to be added to the Disney+ Marvel library in March 2022.
It was another blow for the streaming giant, as, according to UniversalNBC, when the show first streamed, Jessica Jones averaged 4.8 million viewers in the key 18-49 demographic per episode.
As the move made way for Marvel Studios to create a new Jessica Jones show, not much is known at this point. In July 2022, Marvel Studios only announced that the show’s title changed from ‘Jessica Jones’ to ‘A.K.A Jessica Jones,’ a reference to the A.K.A. naming convention on each episode of the series.
A title edit doesn’t seem like a big change and a bit of a slap in the face for Netflix, but the future success of the new Disney-created Daredevil: Born Again will surely have a domino effect on other new Defender Series shows.
Luke Cage
On its premiere date, Sept. 30, 2016, Luke Cage was viewed by 3.52 million adults under the age of 50, according to SymphonyAM. Unlike other Defender Series shows that were impacted by license expiration with Disney, Luke Cage was canceled on June 22, 2018, after two seasons, due to creative differences by the show’s executive producer and showrunner, Cheo Hodari Coker, particularly around the lack of censorship.
According to Coker, the lack of censorship was a critical part of the show’s DNA and success. Coming at a time when Netflix was removing Marvel shows from its roster, Coker tweeted, “Rewatching Luke Cage while I can on Netflix. They’re going to do what they do. It’s theirs. I just hope they don’t sit on it for years to allow for an easier reboot or re-air it with a different mix or the N-Word muted.”