Here’s some good news for fans of online streaming services: Netflix and Amazon have ramped up their investment in programming, spending $7.5 billion last year—more than CBS, HBO, Turner and most countries, including South Korea and Australia.
Between 2013 and 2015, Netflix and Amazon more than doubled their annual expenditure on programming. In 2013, Amazon spent $1.22 billion; that jumped to $2.67 billion in 2015. In the same timeframe, Netflix spending rose from $2.38 billion to $4.91 billion.
The findings from World TV Production Report 2016, a forthcoming report by IHS Markit (Nasdaq: INFO), a world leader in critical information, analytics and solutions, examined how TV programme producers are adapting to the era of internet TV.
Only Disney and NBC topped the online services the report says.
Between 2013 and 2015, Netflix and Amazon more than doubled their annual expenditure on programming. In 2013, Amazon spent $1.22 billion; that jumped to $2.67 billion in 2015. In the same timeframe, Netflix spending rose from $2.38 billion to $4.91 billion. Others, such as Hulu, also increased original programming spending.
As fans of online streaming, we can understand how original programming helps these firms increase the bottom line. Binge watching of chunks of episodes at a time has become particularly popular. In its recent earnings report, Netflix said its recent earnings report, which blew away analyst expectations, was partly a result of the popularity of its orginal programming such as “Stranger Things” and the second season of “Narcos.”
Amazon produced a version of Philip Dick’s Hugo award-winning novel, “The Man in the High Castle,” about Japan and Germany winning World War II, the political comedy, “Alpha House,” which included a fictional NC Senator as a major character, “Mozart in the Jungle,” about life in a symphony orchestra, and a batch of children’s programming.
“In what Netflix calls the era of internet TV, more and more consumers are watching content online, shaking the foundations of the traditional TV industry,”said Tim Westcott, senior principal analyst at IHS Technology said. “However, it’s premature to declare that the era of linear TV is already over, and Netflix and Amazon have come hard on the heels of a boom in production of original drama and comedy by the likes of AMC and FX in the US.”
There were 148 new scripted shows aired by basic cable networks in the US, up from 138 the year before and 96 in 2013, according to the IHS Technology report. In 2016 so far, there have been 113 scripted basic cable shows, compared to 78 on the networks, 31 on premium cable, and 57 online. To set these numbers in context: in 2012, there were three online scripted US TV shows, that number rose to 20 in 2014, 41 in 2015.
