Like the Berlin Conference of 1884 that carved up the African continent into a brightly colored map (for colonization and trade regulation purposes), Netflix and Hulu are snapping up swaths of existing programs, organizing them according to red and green logos, and regulating their availability for customers.
Fans of The Last Man On Earth will want to head over to Hulu, as Deadline reports that team green has recently acquired the rights to the Fox comedy. The announcement was made in conjunction with Last Man On Earth’s second-season premiere, which promises to continue the post-apocalyptic misadventures of the world’s last hapless douchebag, Phil Miller.
This is just the latest content acquisition by Hulu, which has been keen on Fox properties, including Empire, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Mindy Project (which it also rescued from cancellation), and Nashville. “Hulu subscribers have been huge fans of The Last Man On Earth since its premiere,” confirmed Hulu SVP Craig Erwich. “Now, we want to give them the gift to watch all episodes of this creative, fun series.” Of course, a “gift” connotes that something being given for free, but what’s $7.99 between friends? ($11.99 if you want to return the gift of commercial interruptions.)
Of course, Netflix is not going to sit idly by while Hulu turns the entire content map green, and is laying claim to several existing properties of its own. According to The Hollywood Reporter, team red is picking up rights to the CBS animal-apocalypse thriller, Zoo, the USA foreign-occupation thriller, Colony, and CW’s artificial-insemination comedy Jane The Virgin.
The New York Times is reporting that all of this content conquest is not without cost, as streaming providers are moving in to fill the money void left by viewers who are fleeing traditional cable subscriptions. In 2016, Netflix is expected to spend $6 billion on content, almost doubling a $3.7 billion spend in 2013.