Netflix To Stream CW and CBS Shows One Week After Season Finale; Where Are We Headed with TV Streaming?

Jul 08, 2016 10:29 AM EDT

We live in an era today where people don't really watch TV anymore. That is, they don't sit in front of a television and wait for their favorite television shows to come on.  There are very few shows that people aren't willing to wait until they end up on Hulu, and in some cases, you can just wait until the season ends up on Netflix.  Thanks to a new deal with Netflix and CW, you won't have to wait very long. 

As Netflix content boss Ted Sarandos has said:  "Netflix members in the U.S. love the great lineup of series from The CW, and we are thrilled to extend the relationship and bring those shows to our members exclusively now, just eight days after their season finales."  He is also quoted on Variety in saying: "This is a great step forward with a valued network partner to give fans exactly what they want, when and how they want it."

According to Engadget, CBS and Warner Brothers network made a deal where shows like Supernatural, The 100, The Vampire Diaries, Arrow, The Flash, DC's Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl, Jane the Virgin, and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend will debut on Netflix as complete seasons eight days after the show's finale.  By the way, this rule applies to the upcoming 2016-2017 broadcast season, and this deal applies to some new shows coming in the fall such as Frequency, No Tomorrow, and Riverdale

Apparently, the just-aired seasons that wrapped up recently are going to be available as well.  Well, the first season of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend has shown up on Netflix already.  Generally, it often takes a few months before a season shows up on Netflix, so this will make it easier for viewers to watch. 

This deal might be related to something that Hulu offers as they offer the five most recent episodes of current CW seasons anyway, so if you are not able to watch live or at least follow along, then you will have to wait a week to watch a show.  However, most people don't prefer watching episodes weekly anymore, and prefer just to binge watch now. 

So yes, this is a good time to be Netflix, especially since they are going to offer a lot of Disney titles in the fall.  I'm not certain if this is some kind of exclusive deal with CBS and CW, but it would make a lot of sense if both ABC, NBC, and Fox have some deal like this. 

Does this mean that we are looking at an age where shows won't be broadcast anymore, where they show up one season at a time, so viewers can binge watch them?  It is clearly where we are headed.