At Realscreen 2024, Parrot Analytics presented a report featuring key trends in unscripted content. Titled "Ahead of the Trend - Data to Back Up the Pitch", the report examined supply and demand trends for unscripted content including genre and subgenre trends, whitespace opportunity, and an analysis of the performance of unscripted content on various streaming platforms.
Outlined below are some key insights from the report:
Overall Unscripted Supply and Demand Trends
- The supply of unscripted content in the US has started to outpace demand.
- There has been a pullback on content across the board, with a significant drop in unscripted series premieres in 2022 and 2023.
Unscripted Sub-Genre Supply and Demand Trends
- The supply of unscripted crime content grew at the fastest rate over the past four years
- However demand for non-crime documentary series grew at a faster rate, indicating a whitespace opportunity for more of this type of content.
Platform Catalog Insights
- Unscripted content performs particularly well on FAST platforms.
- The unscripted titles on these platforms tend to generate a larger share of demand than their share of catalog.
Regional and Language Demand Trends
- The UCAN and Oceania regions are the most receptive to unscripted cotnent, giving a larger share of attention to these series than other parts of the world
- Markets from other regions have seen some of the largest growth in demand for unscripted content however.
Opportunity in Unscripted Sports Content
- Demand for unscripted sports content is higher than the supply of these titles in many markets.
- The US is nearing saturation however so there may be limited opportunity to grow the supply of these titles with audiences here.
- There is still more demand than supply for these titles on FAST platforms as well as Netflix, which has been successful with a number of its original unscripted sports series.
Specific Case Study: The Value of "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver" to HBO and Max
- Over the past six years, "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver" has generated significant revenue for both HBO and Max.
- 89% of the revenue generated by this title has come from the US/Canada region
- Additional seasons of this show would have a projected value of $117M per season to Max based on the subscriber acquisition and retention power of this title.
The unscripted landscape has undergone changes on multiple fronts in terms of shifting supply and demand, changing audience preferences, and multiple platforms competing for these audiences. Successfully navigating this dynamic environment requires a clear-eyed strategy informed by robust data.
For more detailed insights, download the full report here.
To know more about Parrot Analytics' full suite of entertainment analytics and content valuation products, visit the link here.
