Why the heck Insecure and other HBO titles are heading to Netflix

No, your TV isn't glitching — that's really HBO series Insecure on Netflix.

As of Monday, viewers can now watch the feted Issa Rae series on Netflix, the first of several HBO shows headed to the rival streaming platform. All five seasons of Insecure are now available to view on Netflix, following whispers last week of a potential deal between the streamer and HBO parent company Warner Bros. Discovery.

Max subscribers can also still watch episodes of Insecure on the streaming platform, which is in line with previous industry rumblings.

It's the first of several shows to jump from one streaming platform to another as part of the deal. Reports also say that Six Feet Under, Ballers, Band of Brothers, and The Pacific are all headed to Netflix in the coming weeks. True Blood is said to become available to Netflix subscribers outside of the United States.

The Hollywood Reporter noted the agreement is a co-exclusive licensing deal between the platforms, which means the titles will be available to watch on Max and Netflix simultaneously.

Nowadays, it's rare to see a network give their original content over to another in a deal. Previously, HBO had only licensed Sex and the City to TBS in syndication, as well as series like The Sopranos, Deadwood, and The Wire to Amazon in the days preceding HBO's own streaming platform (HBO Go first, then HBO Max, and now just Max). Insecure, as another example, had a recent run on OWN (which is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery) earlier this year.

But reach a little further back in TV history and the deal doesn't feel so odd. In the days when network television ruled the roost, syndication (i.e. the licensing of television shows to other networks and cable channels for broadcast of re-runs) was the norm. In fact, from 1970 to 1995, a law referred to as Fin-Syn (Financial Interest Syndication Rules) and a sister ruling PTAR (Prime Time Access Rule) limited how much of their own programming networks could air on a given day.

The reason that Fin-Syn existed was to prevent networks from vertical integration and the formation of monopolies. But its repeal in 1995 cleared the path for just that with the rise of streaming-enabling studios to find a direct pipeline to produce and distribute their own content via their platforms. Warner Bros. Discovery licensing titles to stream on Netflix is the first deal of its kind, signing over broadcast rights in an exclusive deal from one streaming content platform to another. It's a surprise in the context of the streaming wars: everyone wants the most subscribers, and original premium content can win the day. Though it's not all that different from the deals made in the days when many studios didn't have their own streaming arm (i.e. when Warner Bros. licensed Friends to Netflix in a lucrative deal).

Glen Wilson/HBO, Gene Page/HBO/Courtesy Everett, HBO/Courtesy Everett 'Insecure' is already on Netflix with other HBO titles on the way

But why now? Well, it's all about the money. Warner Bros. Discovery, under the leadership of David Zaslav, has been slashing and burning left and right in an effort to cut costs. They were the the first to remove original content off of Max (previously HBO Max) as a tax write-off, which other streamers, including Disney+ and Paramount+, have now replicated. Additionally, they've canned projects like Batgirl and numerous TV series, while also conducting sweeping layoffs at the company.

But Insecure and the other titles on the way could be the first in a new model for streamers to license and profit off their original content. Already we've seen a unique moment where the Walt Disney-owned Avatar: The Way of Water is available to stream on both Max and Disney+. Though don't expect unedited episodes of And Just Like That to hit Disney+ any time soon.

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