Friends is heading back to Channel 4 in the UK in January 2027. All 10 seasons will air on E4 and sit on Channel 4’s on-demand service, roughly 15 years after the sitcom was last shown across Channel 4’s networks, the broadcaster said. Channel 4 added that the show first arrived on its channels in the mid-1990s, shifted over to E4 in 2001, and that HBO Max will still hold the UK subscription rights while Channel 4 picks up the free-to-air rights from 5.
Channel 4 is going back to something it knows people still watch. The company pointed to the 8.6 million UK viewers who tuned in for the 2004 finale, then to later E4 repeats that pulled in around 400,000, according to Channel 4. There’s also the broader pull of nostalgia TV, which still works for older fans and for younger viewers who’ve come to the show through streaming.
If you watch Friends regularly, this also reads as a useful get for Channel 4 just as David Brindley takes over. That comes during a rougher stretch for the broadcaster, with cuts affecting about 50% of the commissioning team, a harder ad market, and 2025 revenues that held steady alongside £640 million in content spend, according to Channel 4’s 2025 results.
From January 2027, you’ll be able to watch Friends for free on E4 and on Channel 4’s on-demand service, while HBO Max remains the subscription home. Warner Bros.’ Skydance-owned sales arm handled the deal, which was one of the talking points at MIPCOM, and neither side disclosed the price.
Author: Emmanuel Pina
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