In a surprising twist, Netflix is gearing up to bring live broadcast TV to its service. Starting summer 2025, the streaming giant will offer five linear broadcast channels from France’s leading commercial broadcaster, TF1 Group.

It’s a strategic move for the company that helped kill the TV, borrowing from the old model.

The Union between Netflix and TF1

According to the Financial Times, the new partnership will provide subscribers in France with familiar television within the new streaming interface. Besides access to live channels, Netflix subscribers will get more than 30,000 hours of on-demand TF1 content by summer 2026.

Besides popular reality shows like The Voice, Netflix and TF1 are set to offer scripted dramas and live sports — offering more options and expanding Netflix’s reach in France.

The two companies have worked together before, partnering to produce the French historical series Les Combattantes (also known as Women at War). But this new partnership takes the union a step further. Netflix will integrate live TV within the streaming interface — a feature that few services have done before.

Terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but the scope of the deal suggests a long-term agreement.

Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters described the deal as an opportunity to boost daily engagement, a key metric since the company stopped reporting subscriber counts. “Partnering with France’s largest broadcaster,” he said, “will enable us to offer French consumers even more reasons to come to Netflix every day and stay with us for all their entertainment needs.”

For TF1, the deal could be a game-changer. The deal will give TF1’s live channels a bigger platform, offering the broadcaster to tap a larger market and attract more advertisers.

“We know that viewers’ habits are moving toward on-demand consumption and that the audience is increasingly fragmented,” TF1 CEO Rodolphe Belmer said in a statement. “This unprecedented partnership will allow our premium content to reach unparalleled audiences.”

He went on to say that linear TV was “in secular decline,” but the partnership could allow the company to “take advantage of the tremendous power of Netflix.”

Helping Meet Regulation and Gaining more Eyeballs

For Netflix, the deal also helps meet regulation. In France, streaming services are required to reinvest 20 to 25% of their revenues in the country back into local content. Through the partnership with TF1, Netflix will be able to meet that requirement while growing its library with local, popular content.

On top of that, there’s a huge growth opportunity with viewership. TF1’s broadcast channels attract 58 million viewers per month, while TF1’s streaming platform, TF1+, boasts 35 million users. By comparison, Netflix has just over 10 million subscribers in France, co-CEO Ted Sarandos said in 2022.

The integration could introduce TF1’s audience to Netflix — and vice versa — creating a win-win for both.

And it could be just the start. Peters noted that the company will test the TF1 deal before moving to pursue similar partnerships in other regions. If it works, the model could extend to other European countries and the U.S.

The shift comes as consumers continue to change how they watch TV. According to Nielsen, 44.8% of all TV viewing time in May came from streaming, surpassing cable (24.1%) and broadcast (20.1%) for the first time since Nielsen began tracking in 2021.

While linear channels are available on services like YouTube TV, Netflix’s integration of live broadcast channels signals a bigger shift. Streaming services aren’t just killing TV — they’re replacing it.

With the TF1 deal, Netflix could be trying to become a one-stop shop for all entertainment — bingeable series, live sports, and real-time TV.

For many French viewers, Netflix already is television. Soon, it will become the TV.