Netflix to launch its first daily live show with ‘The Breakfast Club’

Charlamagne Tha God, Jess Hilarious and DJ Envy pose backstage during a taping of iHeartRadio’s Living Black 2023 Block Party in Inglewood, California, on August 2, 2023. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images for iHeartRadio via CNN Newsource)

Netflix is taking another step toward becoming a live TV destination.

The streaming giant announced Thursday that “The Breakfast Club,” the influential iHeartMedia morning show co-hosted by Charlamagne Tha God, DJ Envy and Jess Hilarious, will stream live on Netflix every weekday starting June 1.

The move marks Netflix’s first daily live program, giving the streamer a weekday appointment show more commonly associated with traditional television than on-demand streaming.

Under the initial deal with iHeartMedia, announced in December, Netflix became the exclusive streaming home for the video version of “The Breakfast Club,” with full episodes arriving on the service after the radio show’s live broadcast.

Netflix’s live version of “The Breakfast Club” will differ from its radio broadcast. While the show will continue to air on Power 105.1/WWPR-FM and be nationally syndicated by Premiere Networks, Netflix says its stream will fill the radio show’s commercial breaks with “exclusive bonus segments, behind-the-scenes moments, extended discussions and original content,” creating an “enhanced, uninterrupted experience.”

“The media landscape will always evolve, but one thing consistently cuts through: live programming,” Charlamagne Tha God said in a statement. “That’s a big reason ‘The Breakfast Club’ has sustained its reign for so long. We’re building something powerful — real-time conversation, real community, on a global scale.”

Lauren Smith, Netflix’s vice president of content licensing and programming strategy, said the streamer is thrilled to make the show its first daily live program, adding that “it’s a big step forward in how we bring culturally defining audio-first franchises to life for Netflix audiences around the world.”

“The Breakfast Club” is Netflix’s first daily live show, but it’s not its first live programming. “The Bill Simmons Podcast” has streamed live on Netflix on Sunday nights, and the company has increasingly invested in live offerings, including NFL games, live comedy and events like Alex Honnold’s free solo climb of the Taipei 101 tower in Taiwan.

The move also deepens Netflix’s push into video podcasts, a space still dominated by YouTube. Netflix co-chief executive Ted Sarandos told investors last year that the company was “constantly looking at all different types of content and content creators,” adding that “as the popularity of video podcasts grow,” some could “find their way to Netflix.”

Since then, Netflix has announced podcast-related deals with iHeartMedia, Spotify, Barstool Sports, along with projects involving individual hosts such as Pete Davidson and Brian Williams.