It’s a big pivot for Netflix. And it’s a full-circle move for the streaming industry. The company announced it will stream live broadcast channels from France’s largest commercial network in the country, starting next summer.

In 2025, Netflix subscribers in France will be able to access all five channels from TF1 Group, including LCI, TF1, TMC, NRJ12, and HD1. The company says users will be able to watch “all their favorite live programs from these linear channels, from the latest breaking news to their favorite series or soaps, right on the Netflix interface.”

In addition, by the summer of 2026, all of TF1’s on-demand programming will be available on the platform. The deal will make 30,000 hours of programming available, including scripted series and reality TV shows (including The Voice) and live sports programming.

The deal comes as a surprise on the surface. But it makes sense when you consider the new direction the streaming giant is headed. After it helped transform TV and contributed to the decline of traditional cable, Netflix is now bringing back some of those elements — by including them in its platform.

Netflix and TF1 aren’t strangers. They’ve worked together in the past as co-producers on projects like Les Combattantes, the 2017 French miniseries that’s known in English as Women at War. The deal, though, goes even deeper.

It’s unclear how much the deal cost, but both companies clearly believe it’s more than a test. “By bringing together France’s top broadcaster and the world’s leading streaming service, we can offer our members in France an even better, more varied and compelling experience,” said Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters. “It will also benefit our millions of members worldwide by providing them with the content they love.”

In particular, it will drive more engagement — as a matter of necessity. After the company said it would no longer report subscriber numbers, it needs to boost that key metric to keep investors happy.

Peters stressed the opportunity the deal brings to both companies. “By partnering with France’s leading broadcaster, we will offer our members in France even more reasons to come to Netflix every day and stay with us for all their entertainment.”

TF1 CEO Rodolphe Belmer pointed to the same thing, saying the partnership will allow the broadcaster to reach “unparalleled audiences” and generate revenue from advertising.

“This is an unprecedented alliance between a linear and streaming channel that will bring all the TF1 Group’s audiences together on one single platform,” he said. “It is the recognition of the growing need for live TV and the diversification of audiences.”

And, in particular, the broadcaster can use its own on-demand service to capitalize on the deal. The deal allows the broadcaster to include ads in its linear programming. And the bigger the audience it reaches, the more its ad revenue increases.

TF1, meanwhile, will expand the advertising space it sells as part of its streaming service TF1+, with more inventory to sell. “The key value added for TF1 will be our ability to expose our unique programs to a much wider audience,” Belmer said.

The deal could also help Netflix comply with a new French regulation that requires streamers to spend 20 to 25 percent of their revenue in France on local content. Netflix has pushed back against the mandate, arguing that its users should choose what they watch.

Belmer also believes the deal will drive audience growth. The company’s five channels are watched by around 58 million viewers each month, and its streaming service has 35 million monthly users. Netflix had just over 10 million subscribers in France in 2022, per co-CEO Ted Sarandos.

Peters said the company will take a wait-and-see approach before entering other countries, adding that it will monitor the rollout of the TF1 partnership before moving to other countries. “There are 200 countries where we don’t currently have linear channels,” he said. “I would say we would wait and see how that plays out.”

The partnership also reflects a changing TV landscape. This week, Nielsen said for the first time since the measurement company began tracking it in 2021, streaming surpassed cable and broadcast in May — with 44.8% of total viewership. Cable accounted for 24.1% of viewership, while broadcast represented 20.1%.

With streaming dominating the industry, the partnership could be the start of a trend. Rather than fighting streaming, linear broadcasters could instead live on in streaming — as long as they can attract enough subscribers.

“Linear TV is in secular decline,” Belmer said. “We have sought to mitigate that by launching our own free-to-view platform. But also by tying up and capitalizing on the enormous power of Netflix.”