Higher Ground, the production company of President Barack Obama and his wife, will transition to becoming independent when its current first-look deal with Netflix is up later this year. The announcement was made during a History Channel special edition of HistoryTalks in Philadelphia. President Obama acknowledged the company's eight-year collaboration with Netflix and expressed his intention to continue working with different studios. Higher Ground has been working with HBO, Apple, Amazon, FX, Disney, 20th Century Studios, Artists Equity, Laika, AMC, CBS Studios and YouTube while continuing to develop and produce for Netflix. The company has been testing the selling-to-everyone model since moving to a first-view deal, setting projects up at HBO, and has received multiple Oscar nominations and one win under its Netflix deal.