Netflix embraces publishers in ‘fit for TV’ push

Last week, Netflix announced it has partnered with a variety of publishers to bring their premium videos to the streaming service.

From 3 August, a curated set of publishers’ videos will be available to all Netflix subscribers in the UK, Ireland, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Videos are expected to range from three to 20 minutes in length and will include “a mix of licensed past videos and new ongoing series”, according to a spokesperson from Netflix.

Publishers include:

• BuzzFeed: A*Pop, BuzzFeed Celeb, Cocoa Butter, Pero Like, Tasty
• Condé Nast: Allure, Architectural Digest (AD), Bon Appétit, Condé Nast Traveler, Epicurious, Glamour, House & Garden, Self, Teen Vogue, Vanity Fair, Vogue, Wired, The World of Interiors
• Hearst Magazines: Cosmopolitan, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, Seventeen, Women’s Health, Town & Country, Delish, Good Housekeeping
• PMX, a subdivision of Penske Media: Billboard, Eater, Indiewire, Rolling Stone, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety
• People Inc.: Entertainment Weekly, Food & Wine, InStyle, People, Travel + Leisure
• Tastemade: Tastemade

Analysis: Netflix vies for more ‘fit for TV’ video content

Netflix’s move to embrace publishers’ video content comes amid another pivot-to-video moment for publishers, with most magazine and news brands moving to prioritise AV production, including video podcasts and short-form video clips, over the past year.

While terms of the agreements with publishers were not publicised, apart from undisclosed licensing fees, publishers are likely to benefit from their videos reaching more consumers and doing so in an environment not owned by Google. Architectural Digest’s popular “Open Door” videos, for example, are some of the most-watched videos on the magazine brand’s YouTube channel; bringing them to Netflix not only places them within a premium streaming environment, but also diversifies their distribution.

For Netflix’s part, the streaming giant has aggressively sought partnerships with premium publishing brands as it diversifies its own content mix away from just scripted and unscripted programming.

During this year’s FIFA World Cup, Netflix has hosted a daily show of Goalhanger’s The Rest is Football podcast, and the latest move to integrate publishing brands’ popular series taps into a similar vein. Publishers’ video content is of premium quality relative to the long-tail of user-generated content on the web. But for years, that “fit for TV” content primarily lived on YouTube and publishers’ owned and operated websites.

In 2023, TV measurement company Barb defined “fit for TV” video content as meeting the following criteria:

• Editorial input and oversight
• Regulatory compliance, or an intention to deliver content that aligns with prevailing regulation
• Content that provides a safe and suitable environment for advertisers.

A subsequent 2025 study conducted by attention measurement company Amplified, in partnership with Vevo, found that content that meets Barb’s “fit for TV” standard drives 40% more active attention on adjacent ads than less premium videos.

Premium videos were also found to be more likely than non-premium videos to be viewed in a co-viewing environment, with 71% of households found to watch premium content with two or more people.

Rich Brant, Vevo’s senior director of advanced TV, strategy and partnerships, told The Media Leader at the time that “the prestigiousness and credibility and trustworthiness of the content, it transfers between platforms in association with the ads.”

By bringing more premium video content into the fold, Netflix is positioning itself as a legitimate alternative to YouTube for finding (and advertising against) content from premium publishing brands.

‘Fit for TV’ YouTube channels drive higher ad attention than non-premium video