Streaming TV Services Up Production Budgets

Premium online services continue to raise production budgets, but they also see the need for traditional TV-movie content.

For 2017, Netflix is projected to spend $5.8 billion on TV production -- an amount that rivals traditional TV-movie companies' spending. according to MoffettNathanson Research. Other streaming services are following suit.

For example, Time Warner is estimated to spend $5 billion on TV production this year, followed by Walt Disney at $5.7 billion and Fox with $5.5 billion. NBCUniversal leads all companies with $8.6 billion.

Other premium streaming companies are also raising their production budgets: Amazon is poised to spend $4.5 billion and Hulu will shell out $2.5 million. Newcomer Apple intended to spend $1 billion this year.

In terms of acquired programming, Time Warner and 21st Century Fox have been the greatest contributors to services such as Netflix, Amazon and Hulu -- gaining a 16% and 15% market share, respectively.

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CBS has a 13% share, while NBCUniversal is at 9% and Disney-ABC has 7%.

As a result of its increasing TV production budget, Netflix's owned in-house productions is just behind Disney-ABC at 6%. Sony Pictures Entertainment has a 5% share, followed by The CW at 4% and Viacom with 3%.

At the prime-time Emmy awards on Sunday night, Hulu became the first streaming service to win an Emmy for a TV series, for “The Handmaid’s Tale.”

In June, Netflix streamed 187 TV shows, with 21 Netflix originals and 166 acquired programs. The previous year,in the same month, Netflix had 15 originals and 193 acquired programs.

In 2016, premium online services had 93 originals TV shows on their platforms -- up from 46 in 2015, and 32 in 2014.

1 comment about "Streaming TV Services Up Production Budgets".
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  1. Ed Papazian from Media Dynamics, September 19, 2017 at 10:25 a.m.

    Wayne, I assume that Netflix's claims about content production costs refer to the license fees it will pay to producers and not to other costs, such as programming staffs, research, electronic distribution, etc. As for the figures mentioned for the broadcast TV networks, I assume that these include costs for all forms of content, including daytime, late night, news, etc. as well as primetime as otherwise they would be operating in the red---based only on primetime ad revenues. The NBCU estimates probably include cable and I wonder whether this is the same for Disney ( ABC? ) and FOX? Another question concerns TV sports rights fees. I assume that they are not included. Just asking as the figures need some clarification and might otherwise be misleading.

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