AT&T acquired the rights to hit The Big Bang Theory for its upcoming streaming service, HBO Max in a deal that will also keep the sitcom on the company’s TBS cable channel through 2028.
As media companies line up to launch streaming products, shows like The Big Bang Theory have been in demand, with the companies that produce them spending big buck to put on their own distribution platforms.
HBO Max previously grabbed the rights to Friends and NBCU acquired the rights to The Office. Earlier this week Netflix acquired rights to Seinfeld. Financial terms have not been released, but each deal is reportedly in the multi-hundred million dollar range.
All 279 episodes of Big Bang Theory, which ended its original run on CBS in the spring, will be available on HBO Max when it launches in 2020, AT&T said.
“Few shows define a generation and capture mainstream zeitgeist like The Big Bang Theory,” said Robert Greenblatt, chairman, WarnerMedia Entertainment and Direct-To-Consumer. ”We’re thrilled that HBO Max will be the exclusive streaming home for this comedy juggernaut when we launch in the spring of 2020. This show has been a hit virtually around the globe, it’s one of the biggest shows on broadcast television of the last decade, and the fact that we get to bring it to a streaming platform for the first time in the U.S. is a coup for our new offering.”
The Big Bang Theory, created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, premiered on CBS in September 2007. It became the longest-running multi-camera comedy series in U.S. TV history.
“I am forever grateful to have been part of something as extraordinary as The Big Bang Theory,” says co-creator/executive producer Chuck Lorre. “All of us, — Bill Prady, Steven Molaro, Steve Holland, and the amazing writing staff, cast and crew, recognize that 12 seasons of laughter is a gift to be cherished. And now we are extremely excited that TBBT will be joining the HBO Max lineup and be available to both existing and future fans of the show. Laughter has legs!”
