'Friends' cast members still reportedly make $20 million a year each, and could get even more thanks to a new Netflix deal
- The "Friends" cast members still make $20 million a year each, according to Marketplace.
- Now that the show will remain on Netflix throughout 2019, they could make even more.
- AT&T and Netflix are finalizing a deal to keep the sitcom on Netflix while AT&T can also stream it on its own service launching in 2019.
"Friends" ended in 2004, but 14 years later, the cast still makes millions of dollars off of the popular sitcom.
According to Marketplace, each member of the "Friends" main cast still makes $20 million a year thanks to syndication and Netflix. The show still makes $1 billion a year for Warner Bros., and the actors get 2% of that syndication income, Marketplace said.
And now that the Warner Bros. show will remain on Netflix through 2019, they could make even more.
The show's future on the streaming giant was put in doubt earlier this month when the "Friends" show page on Netflix indicated that it would be unavailable to stream by January. Netflix quickly removed the note, and said that "Friends" will remain on the service throughout 2019.
AT&T, which bought Time Warner this year, confirmed that Netflix and AT&T were finalizing a multiyear agreement to keep "Friends" on Netflix while AT&T would have the freedom to also include it on its own streaming service, expected to launch in 2019.
According to The New York Times, Netflix is dropping $100 million for "Friends," more than the $30 million it was paying per year. But since it won't be exclusive to only Netflix, it will likely negotiate a lower price in the future when the show comes to AT&T's new streaming service.