New seasons of The Flash, Arrow, Legends of Tomorrow and Supergirl could end up on Netflix two weeks after the finales if The CW decides to cut ties with Hulu according to Variety.
CW’s contract with Hulu may come to an end in October, the same month that fall premieres begin to air. Currently, the CW has a deal with Hulu that makes the five most current episodes available on a rolling basis about three hours after they air. With the deal, originally formed in 2011, coming to a close, fans will have to resort to CWTV and traditional on-demand services to watch new episodes after they air.
Hulu is pushing to expand the limited access they have over CW’s most popular shows, asking for all the episodes in the current season to be available if their deal is renewed. Variety reports Hulu subscribers’ main complaints about CW shows is that full seasons aren't available, which made this a big part of Hulu’s negotiations.
As of now, CW’s shows like The Flash and Arrow arrive on Netflix only a few weeks before the new season airs. Netflix is hoping to change that if the new deal is approved by Warner Bros. Variety reports this could be one of the biggest deals a network has made with a streaming service, a value that could exceed 1 billion. This comes as a slight surprise considering most networks are looking for ways to provide in-house streaming on-demand services rather than teaming up with sites like Hulu and Netflix.
There’s currently no way to watch CW shows live without a cable subscription, and if CW does not renew with Hulu, fans will have to resort to the network’s website for next-day access. This story is still developing. Variety reports that more details about the CW-Netflix will come later this week.
