American Horror Story – Picture: FX
FX and Hulu have expanded their deal but what are the knock-on consequences of this for Netflix? Let’s take a look.
Before we dive in, let’s provide some much-needed context. FX and its parent company Fox used to have an overall output deal with Netflix up until around 2017. The ending of that deal saw the purge of the majority of FX and Fox titles from Netflix.
Since then, Disney has taken over Fox and FX and in early November 2019, announced the networks closer ties to Hulu. Specifically, Hulu would be the main provider for FX shows from March 2020 onwards.
Netflix does still carry a few FX shows, however. These include American Horror Story, American Crime Story and most recently, Pose. What’s going to happen to these shows on Netflix?
In the short term, not a lot. Most of these titles are shared licenses. American Horror Story for example already resides on Amazon Prime, Hulu, and Netflix in the US.
The three FX shows we mentioned (and Glee from Fox) still likely reside on Netflix because of the Ryan Murphy connection who is now producing new series exclusively for the streamer.
In The Verge’s story, they mention that “Licensing deals are complicated.” adding “It’s why certain FX titles, like Pose and American Crime Story, won’t be available on Hulu right away.”
Vulture’s report on Hulu’s new FX deal does say that American Horror Story may be departing Netflix by saying “That means AHS is jumping ship to Hulu”. Vulture does, however, state that “American Crime Story and Pose are staying put at Netflix for now”.
We’ve spoken to a source that said the three FX titles mentioned are not leaving for the moment and reiterated that the licenses are already shared.
Hopefully, that means American Horror Story will continue to stay on Netflix with the new season hopefully coming late next year. Pose season 1 is streaming now with season 2 likely released on Netflix US next summer and American Crime Story currently on hiatus.
