Final Episode Viewership and Ratings
The series finale of Friends, titled "The Last One," aired on May 6, 2004, and drew 52.5 million viewers in the United States, making it one of the most-watched finales in television history Nielsen. By comparison, the final episode of The Big Bang Theory, "The Stockholm Syndrome," aired on May 16, 2019, and attracted 18.52 million viewers in the U.S., ranking among the top 10 scripted finales of the streaming era Forbes.
According to Warner Bros. Discovery, the global syndication and streaming rights for the Friends library generate an estimated $1 billion in annual revenue, with the show remaining the most-watched classic sitcom on Max Warner Bros. Discovery. The final season of How I Met Your Mother, which concluded in 2014, averaged 11.17 million viewers per episode in the U.S., though its divisive finale drew polarized audience scores on IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes.
Streaming Revenue and Licensing Deals
Platform Exclusivity and Licensing Fees
In 2023, Netflix reported that the Friends library was one of the primary drivers of subscriber engagement in the U.S., contributing to a 12% year-over-year increase in viewership hours for classic sitcom content Netflix. Warner Bros. Discovery renewed a multi-year licensing agreement for the Friends episodes on Max, with industry analysts estimating the deal at over $100 million annually.
The final season of Seinfeld, which aired in 1998, was initially syndicated in off-network barter deals, but its digital licensing to Netflix and later Hulu generated an estimated $300 million in backend revenue for Castle Rock Entertainment and NBCUniversal SEC EDGAR. The Seinfeld library remains one of the highest-value off-network sitcom assets in the entertainment industry.
Production Costs and Cast Compensation
Final Season Budgets
The final season of Friends had a per-episode budget of approximately $10 million, with the six lead actors each earning $1 million per episode, a record at the time Forbes. The final season of Breaking Bad, which concluded in 2013, had a per-episode budget of roughly $6 million, with lead actor Bryan Cranston earning $225,000 per episode.
According to the SAG-AFTRA 2023 contract negotiations, streaming residuals for reruns of hit sitcoms have increased, with legacy cast members of shows like Friends and The Office continuing to receive backend payments proportional to their initial participation agreements SAG-AFTRA. The final season of Frasier