With Apple spending around $9 billion on original content in the lead-up to Apple TV+ (which launched here on November 2) and Netflix even more on its own series and movies over the past year, there's been a lot of focus on streaming services' moves to create and control their own content.
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But a parallel development has seen ever-escalating amounts paid for five-year deals on reliable classics, often made by others - especially those that appeal to Gen X (a lot of Millennials simply never got into the TV habit to fall in love with the likes of Ross and Rachel to begin with).
![All US$. Source / Bloomberg](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/6FZ7XU4RUBUOKIVXQFFDF2JOPU.jpg?auth=94166a4920d72b92c071fd570adf918cd57472630622bb1ce27721610a780279&width=16&height=11&quality=70&smart=true)
Bloomberg reports that in the last few months, entertainment companies have spent nearly $US2.5 billion on the streaming rights to old TV shows.