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Netflix, Amazon Commission Half of Worldwide Streamers’ Content

Photo from Glenn Carstens Peters on Unsplash

Netflix, Amazon Commission Half of Worldwide Streamers’ Content

By Movieguide® Contributor

Netflix and Amazon have beat out studio-backed streamers when it comes to commissioning original content. 

“Netflix commissioned its highest number of new titles since the third quarter of 2021,” Variety reported, citing a study from Ampere Analysis. “Amazon set a new record for quarterly commissions.”

The outlet added, “The two streaming giants accounted for more than half (53%) of worldwide streamers’ commissions from January-March 2024.”

Netflix and Amazon have faced challenges from studio streamers (Paramount+ and Disney+, among others), but last year’s strikes caused Hollywood studios to cut back on commissioning new content to save money. 

Ampere’s study also found that the streaming companies are ordering the majority of their new titles from countries outside the U.S.

“The market saturation in North America, the growing cost of production, and the lingering impact of the Hollywood strikes have pushed Netflix and Amazon to increase investment in international productions to stimulate subscriber growth,” Ampere senior researcher Mariana Enriquez Denton Bustinza said in a statement about the study’s findings. “While several studio-backed SVODs have made cutbacks internationally, these two streaming giants are doubling down on their localized global strategy.”

She continued, “For Netflix, this means catering to a broad subscriber base while leaning on markets whose productions offer the greatest potential for crossover appeal. Amazon’s approach remains more heavily targeted towards key markets such as India, while it leverages its global position to expand further into the theatrical market to generate downstream revenues from its platforms.” 

Variety reported on the streamers’ efforts to build international content, writing, “Netflix and Amazon now generate over half of their content outside the U.S., underscoring a decreasing reliance on American production ecosystems. This global pivot is not merely a shift in geography but may signal a broadening of narrative scopes and audience engagement strategies.”

Movieguide® previously reported on streaming services’ efforts to change strategies and boost profits:

Streaming services are looking for ways to attract new subscribers and keep old ones, from bundles and mergers to making content that will appeal to a broader audience. 

A recent report from The New York Times contained interviews with many of the streaming industry’s big names, and they were all in agreement about what’s next — “More ads, higher prices, and fewer big swings on prestige TV,” per Tech Crunch. 

These changes all mark streaming services’ new strategy, which is based on profitability rather than subscriber growth. 

Many services are pushing ad-supported plans for their subscribers, which could affect the type of original content they’re making. Advertisers want their ads to reach a mass audience of viewers, so crime procedurals, hospital shows and soap operas are the move for streamers. 

However, this doesn’t mean streamers are giving up on making prestige content. 

Amazon’s Prime Video head Mike Hopkins said, “Procedurals and other tried and true formats do well for [Prime], but we also need big swings that have customers saying ‘Wow, I can’t believe that just happened’ and will have people telling their friends.’”

Other changes planned for the streaming landscape include more live sports offerings, more bundle packages with other services and either the shutdown or a merging of existing streamers. 


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