E! Retaining ‘Keeping Up With the Kardashians’ Rights as Family Moves to Hulu (EXCLUSIVE)
After 20 seasons, the Kardashian-Jenner family signed off on “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” with the series finale airing Thursday night, marking the end of a reality TV era. But, good news, dolls: Long after the family moves to Hulu, fans can still catch marathons of “KUWTK” on E!
E! will hold onto the rights to the juggernaut franchise, Variety has learned, as the NBCUniversal cabler owns the “Keeping Up” library and can continue to air episodes, even as the family is deep into their new pact with Hulu.
In addition to the ability to air on E!, Seasons 1 through 19 will continue to stream on Peacock and Hulu with Season 20 being made available on both services in 2022, per the existing streaming deal.
Throughout “KUWTK’s” original run, the reality show has been available to binge on Hulu. The high engagement among Hulu’s consumer base proved to be good synergy and part of the reason why the family is said to be moving to the Disney-owned streaming service.
The Kardashian-Jenners are expected to bring new programming to Hulu and Disney’s Star international streaming service starting later this year, though no details surrounding the content, format or number of projects has been announced. The deal, which was announced in December 2020, was set with family members Kris, Kim, Kourtney, Khloe, Kendall and Kylie.
“Keeping Up” premiered in 2007, revolutionizing reality TV, pop culture and the definition of celebrity. The flagship show ran 20 seasons, plus 9 spinoffs, which totaled 38 seasons in all with 440 episodes and roughly 20,000 hours of footage. A huge hit for E!, “KUWTK” was still a major player at the cabler in its final season, bringing in an impressive audience and major advertising dollars — not just domestically, but globally, as the series aired in 90 countries and in 20 different languages.
The last deal that the Kardashian-Jenners inked with E! was back in 2017 for a reported $100 million, though the network nor the family ever commented on their sizable paychecks. Terms of the Hulu deal have not been disclosed.
While the family cost a pretty penny, the return on E!’s investment was worthwhile, not just in fresh content, but in repeats, which rated well, no matter how many times they had already aired. Marathons of “Keeping Up” have been a staple on E!, filling up much airtime nearly all day, every day.
E! has not made any programming announcements as to how “Keeping Up” repeats may fit into its future schedule, but with the vast success of the show and its deeply-rooted fanbase, the cabler will likely take advantage of its ownership of the franchise for years to come.
In fact, even though the series has ended, E! still has more Kardashians content to keep up with. Before the family officially departs for Hulu, Andy Cohen will sit down with the family for their first-ever reunion. The two-part special airs June 17 at 8 p.m. and June 20 at 9 p.m.
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