Sony Pictures Television is likely to sell Seinfeld to an online vendor, which means the American sitcom will be available for viewing online. The American sitcom started in 1989 and ran for nine seasons on NBC until May 1998 and ran 180 episodes in total.

Yahoo, Amazon and Hulu are believed to be involved in a bidding war for the rights of the television show. Netflix, however, will not bid for it.

"Netflix, which last year took a hard look at Seinfeld, is taking a pass on the show, a person familiar with the matter said," reported The Wall Street Journal.

Seinfeld was very popular, and reruns of the show were shown on many TV stations and on TBS for years. Bidders of the sitcom believe that Seinfeld also has the potential to successfully run for another few years online. People will also have the option to watch their favorite Seinfeld episodes on demand.

Netflix is one of the dominant players in the on-demand Internet media streaming industry, but whoever becomes the successful Seinfeld bidder will be able to elevate its position.

In 2014, Netflix acquired the rights of the hugely popular Friends sitcom and paid Warner Bros. over $500,000 for each episode. The Wall Street Journal cites sources familiar with the matter and suggests that Sony is also hoping to fetch over $500,000 for each episode of Seinfeld.

Netflix's deal for Friends lasts for four years. Market experts, however, believe that the Seinfeld deal will fetch $500,000 for each episode only if the contract is for about 10 years. A deal with an Internet media streaming service will not mean that Seinfeld reruns will stop on TV.

The fact is, the online media streaming industry has been witnessing stiff competition. Both Amazon and Hulu are aggressively acquiring content to attract more and more customers. Hulu recently acquired CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and in 2014 Amazon acquired many HBO shows, such as Girls and The Sopranos.

Yahoo has not been very aggressive with acquisitions of online content, but the company hopes to bounce back and compete with its rivals.

Sony has held distribution rights for Seinfeld for a long time. However, Warner Bros. will receive a major chunk of the revenue from the sale of the TV sitcom. Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, creators of the show, also have profit participants in the show. In 2010, Seinfeld generated about $2.7 billion in revenues from syndication.

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