Image: Seinfeld, NBC
Netflix is in the spotlight again, after delivering above-expected performance metrics thanks to cracking down on password sharing, introducing a new ad-supported tier, ramping up licensing deals and consistently delivering a high volume of on-demand content to its 270 million global subscribers.
Licensed content is figuring more significantly in Netflix’s strategy. Since November 2023, the number of licensed shows on Netflix has increased by around 6%, making up 35% of the platform’s TV catalog as of June 2024, according to Parrot Analytics’ Content Panorama.
Licensed content isn’t just growing in quantity — its importance to Netflix is also rising. Since last November, the demand share for licensed TV content has increased. At that time, Netflix originals accounted for 55% of the platform’s TV catalog demand, while licensed content made up the remaining 45%. By June 2024, the demand share for Netflix originals had dropped to 51%, with licensed shows climbing to 49%, resulting in an almost even split between the two types of content.
Paramount and Warner Bros Discovery are Netflix’s primary sources of licensed TV content, contributing 6.7% and 6.4% of Netflix’s demand, respectively. This includes key titles such as Nickelodeon’s kids shows, CBS’s procedurals, and The CW’s dramas.
Shows originally released on one of the main American broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC) play a crucial role in Netflix’s non-original catalog. Although these shows comprise less than 1.5% of Netflix’s TV catalog, they account for nearly 7% of its total demand. This means the demand share for broadcast shows on Netflix is almost five times higher than their supply share.
Among the main SVOD platforms, Netflix leads in the performance of broadcast shows, followed by Max and Amazon Prime Video, where the demand share for broadcast shows is 2.6 and 2.4 times higher than the supply share, respectively. Unlike like Peacock, which is linked to NBC by corporate ownership, Netflix has to invest significantly to license these titles, making it very selective about its choices.
As a result, despite having the lowest supply share of broadcast titles, Netflix features several of these shows among its most in-demand, including ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy,” CBS’s “Young Sheldon,” and NBC’s “Seinfeld.”
