The last laugh: behind the multimillion-dollar deals to buy old sitcoms

Seinfeld, Friends, The Office – with an ever-increasing wave of new content, why are TV streamers paying hundreds of millions for classic comedies?It’s the the fall of 1998. Netflix has launched with 30 employees and 925 DVD titles available to rent. Amazon has just announced its intention to expand beyond selling books online. And Seinfeld, the hugely popular sitcom about daily life in New York City, has wrapped its ninth and final season on NBC. Related: Could it BE any funnier? Th