Netflix and Amazon are again on prime, once more. Within the first quarter of 2024, Netflix and Amazon have reasserted their dominance in unique content material commissioning for streaming platforms, in keeping with a brand new report by Ampere Evaluation. The 2 streaming giants accounted for greater than half (53 p.c) of all international SVOD commissions within the first quarter.
Netflix commissioned its highest variety of new titles because the third quarter of 2021, whereas Amazon set a brand new file for its quarterly commissions, Ampere experiences. This surge comes as budget-conscious rival streamers have in the reduction of on commissioning.
Each Netflix and Amazon ordered extra originals outdoors the U.S. than within the U.S. Within the first quarter, the variety of Netflix commissions out of Western Europe, led by originals from the U.Ok., Spain and Germany, practically matched that in North America, and Asia Pacific titles additionally noticed a notable uptick. Amazon additionally upped its sport in Asia, notably in India, the place the streamer ordered a file slate of 37 new titles, greater than the earlier six quarters mixed.
Ampere predicts the streamers will proceed to spice up worldwide manufacturing to increase their international subscriber base and counter home subscriber stagnation.
“The market saturation in North America, the rising price of manufacturing, and the lingering affect of the Hollywood strikes have pushed Netflix and Amazon to extend funding in worldwide productions to stimulate subscriber progress,” mentioned Mariana Enriquez Denton Bustinza, senior researcher at Ampere Evaluation. “Whereas a number of studio-backed SVODs have made cutbacks internationally, these two streaming giants are doubling down on their localized international technique.”
The Ampere examine doesn’t distinguish between genres or funds ranges. The price of producing worldwide reveals is considerably lower than that within the U.S., so a better variety of commissions doesn’t essentially translate to a higher content material spend internationally in comparison with home.
Certainly, Ampere notes that low-cost documentaries accounted for 30 p.c of Netflix’s commissions in Western Europe within the first quarter, up from 23 p.c over the identical interval final 12 months.
The report teases out a few of the strategic variations between the 2 streaming rivals. In India, Netflix has targeted on commissioning crime and thriller collection, Ampere mentioned however has decreased its home orders of unique motion pictures, relying as an alternative on pay-one agreements with theatrical studios for a provide of recent, unique U.S. movies for the territory.
Amazon, which holds a big lead over Netflix in India by way of subscriber figures, lately introduced its largest slate of Indian unique motion pictures up to now. The platform can be actively pursuing pay-one and co-financing offers with native theatrical distributors within the territory. The various array of Indian motion pictures headed to Prime Video contains struggle movie Shershaah, starring Sidharth Malhotra and Kiara Advani; Sudha Kongara’s motion drama Soorarai Pottru; and the Vicky Kaushal-starring historic drama Sardar Udham. The significance of the Indian market to the streamer’s worldwide technique was one motive behind Amazon casting India celebrity Priyanka Chopra alongside Richard Madden in its big-budget spy collection Citadel.
Whereas Netflix is “catering to a broad subscriber base whereas leaning on markets whose productions supply the best potential for crossover attraction,” says Bustinza, Amazon’s method “stays extra closely focused in direction of key markets comparable to India, whereas it leverages its international place to increase additional into the theatrical market to generate downstream revenues from its platforms.”