Parrot Analytics supply and demand trend reports reveal trends in audience content demand against industry supply for microgenres. Series are usually made of multiple microgenres within an overarching main genre, for example Star Trek: Discovery is a drama series that has the action and science-fiction microgenres.

In this report, we look at which microgenres are most represented in the available series in this market, which are best at attracting audience attention and which have the biggest gulf between these two – representing either opportunity or warning. Lastly, how are these trends shifting and what is audience attention moving towards?

The key questions investigated in this report:

1. What does the content landscape look like in the United Kingdom?

2. Where are the largest whitespace opportunities in the United Kingdom?

3. Which genres are trending towards increased whitespace in the United Kingdom?

What does the content landscape look like in the United Kingdom?

• To reveal content opportunities, this chart compares the supply and demand for selected microgenres in the United Kingdom.

• British audience demand is high for the superhero microgenre, but supply of shows that feature this type of content is low. The typical demand for a show with this microgenre is 379% of average, while the number of titles with it is only 19% of average.

• Shows with the procedural microgenre are similarly undersaturated, with more demand than supply. Shows with this microgenre with high UK demand in the three months analyzed include Line Of Duty, Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Criminal Minds.

• The science fiction, sitcom and fantasy microgenres all have above average demand and also an above average level of supply. British audiences pay a lot of attention to these shows, but have plentiful alternatives if an individual title doesn’t impress.

• In the oversaturated quadrant is the soap opera microgenre. A Supply Index of 25 means the typical soap has only 25% of the demand of the average series, but the microgenre contains 12% more titles than average. This microgenre is a very difficult arena for a new show to succeed in.

Where are the largest whitespace opportunities in the United Kingdom?

• In the United Kingdom, panel game shows have the greatest whitespace potential. Between February and April 2021, panel game shows have a Supply Index of 6, meaning it has only 6% of the average number of titles in a microgenre. However, the typical title with this microgenre has a Demand Index of 194%, nearly double the average demand. This gives panel game shows the highest Demand/Supply ratio with 29:1.

• While panel game shows have a fixed format that is relatively difficult to introduce into other genres, the second largest whitespace potential is for mockumentary. With a Demand/Supply ratio of 23:1, British audiences are ready for more content with this framing device.

• While market wide trends do not guarantee the success of an individual show, investment in a British mockumentary series about superheroes (third highest ratio of 20:1) would carry less risk than the average commission.

Which genres are trending towards increased whitespace in the United Kingdom?

• These microgenres have increased their whitespace potential the most in the United Kingdom compared to 12 months ago.

• In all cases, the supply of these microgenres has shrunk relative to the market. This means that the average microgenre added new titles faster than these specific microgenres did.

• All six of these microgenres increased their UK average demand from their 2020 values. The superhero microgenre increased most, moving from a Demand Index of 303 in Feb-Apr 2020, to 379 in Feb-Apr 2021.

• The change over the year for pre-school content is noteworthy. This microgenre goes from below average in both supply and demand in 2020 to above average in demand, moving it into the undersaturated quadrant.

• The increase in interest for the western microgenre is interesting, as this type of content does not traditionally attract UK audience attention. Wynonna Earp and the sci-fi western Westworld are series with the western microgenre that currently have high UK demand.

This report is intended as a high-level overview of supply and demand trends in this market. DEMAND360 Enterprise users have access to a dedicated supply and demand analysis tool enabling insights into trends for specific platforms, title filters, custom timeframes and more in the Demand360 platform. To unlock access to these features, enquire about Enterprise subscription details here: https://www.parrotanalytics.com/contact.