Netflix has won over film and television, and now that it's picked up The Amazing Digital Circus, it looks to be coming for YouTube
Don't worry though, you'll still be able to watch the series for free on YouTube.
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In a slightly unusual move, Netflix has picked up the streaming rights for the viral web series The Amazing Digital Circus.
You might not have seen it, but with as popular as The Amazing Digital Circus has gotten, you've almost definitely at least heard about it, if you haven't already seen the countless cosplays of its lead clown girl Pomni. The first episode, which launched a year ago next month, has accumulated almost 350 million views, with its second episode releasing back in May racking up over 121 million views. And now, alongside the release of the third episode, comes a bit of an odd announcement: Netflix has picked up the streaming rights for the series.
Now, understandably, your first concern will be whether the series will leave YouTube now that Netflix has it, and whether the remaining six episodes will be exclusive to the streaming service too. The answer to that, equal parts simply and oddly, is no. All three episodes that are currently out will remain available to watch on YouTube, and the remaining six will come to Netflix the same day they came to YouTube, so if you don't have an account with the latter, you'll still be able to watch it for free.
Glitch Productions, the studio behind the series, explained that you'll be able to watch the first three episodes on Netflix from October 4, but noted that it's "still independently funding everything, we still get full control of the show, and episodes will continue to ALWAYS come out on YouTube first." The show's creator Gooseworx also wrote on Twitter to clarify that "Netflix will have [zero] creative control over the show, and that we can pull out of this deal if they try. Like every other [The Amazing Digital Circus] brand deal, this was a case of them approaching us and needing to conform to our terms. Not the other way around."
It's an interesting move from Netflix, as the streamer obviously wants a piece of that popular pie, but there's obviously questions of how worth it it is considering it is available on YouTube. Definitely leaves me wondering if Netflix will be looking to more YouTube content in its future - let's just hope if anything else does get picked up, it has as good a deal as this one.