A surprising, but strategic, move, Netflix is about to start adding live broadcast TV to its platform. Starting summer 2025, French users will be able to access five linear channels from TF1 Group, the country’s top commercial broadcaster.

In a sign of the times, the company that helped kill television is now borrowing its model.

Netflix and TF1: Enter the Union

The news broke from the Financial Times, which reported that Netflix and TF1 will allow users in France to experience familiar television inside a modern streaming platform. In addition to access to live channels, Netflix subscribers will also get access to more than 30,000 hours of on-demand TF1 content in the summer of 2026.

Content offerings include popular reality TV shows, scripted dramas, and live sports — giving users more options and opening up opportunities for Netflix to expand its content portfolio in France.

Netflix and TF1 have worked together in the past, including co-producing the French period series Les Combattantes (aka Women at War). But this new deal goes much deeper than a co-production. The partnership marks the integration of live broadcast TV inside the Netflix interface — a move that few other streaming platforms have taken.

The partnership was not disclosed, but the breadth suggests a significant commitment on the part of Netflix.

“It’s a fantastic opportunity to grow our daily engagement,” Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters said. “The alliance with the number one French broadcaster will allow us to provide French consumers with even more reasons to come to Netflix every day and stay with us for all their entertainment.”

For TF1, the agreement represents a transformation in terms of visibility and advertising. The channels will remain live, meaning TF1’s ads will reach new audiences and gain advertisers’ attention.

“Teaming up with the leading player in streaming is fully in line with our digital strategy,” TF1 CEO Rodolphe Belmer said. “While on-demand viewing is becoming the new norm and while fragmentation of audiences is accelerating, this alliance will make our premium content accessible to an unprecedented number of viewers.”

He also said linear TV is in “secular decline,” and “this alliance will allow us to benefit from the huge force of Netflix.”

Meeting French Regulations — and Millions of Viewers

But Netflix also gets a bonus in a regulatory way. Under French law, streaming platforms are required to reinvest between 20 and 25 percent of revenue generated in France in local content. By partnering with TF1, Netflix meets its requirements and gains access to an extensive library of culturally-relevant content.

There’s also a large growth potential when it comes to viewership. The five TF1 broadcast channels currently attract 58 million viewers monthly, and its streaming platform, TF1+, has 35 million users. Netflix has less than 10 million subscribers in France, co-CEO Ted Sarandos said in 2022.

The integration could open the door for TF1’s traditional audience to discover Netflix — and vice versa — and build a virtuous circle of viewership and reach.

Peters said the company will observe how the TF1 deal performs before moving forward with similar partnerships in other markets. If the arrangement works, the model could extend to other European markets and potentially even the U.S.

This move follows a pattern in shifting viewer behavior. According to Nielsen, streaming accounted for 44.8% of total TV viewership in May, more than cable (24.1%) and broadcast (20.1%) for the first time since tracking began in 2021.

Several linear channels are already available on services like YouTube TV, but Netflix’s inclusion of live broadcast channels represents a larger shift. Streaming platforms aren’t just disrupting television anymore. They’re also taking it over.

In partnering with TF1, Netflix may become a one-stop shop for entertainment — from bingeable series to live sports and actual television.

For many French viewers, Netflix is already television. Soon, it will be one.