Inside Cable’s Retreat From Scripted Series

Networks that are cutting back on scripted series include:
1) A&E
2) Bravo
3) CMT
4) Discovery
5) E!
6) ID
7) MTV
8) TV Land
9) VH1
10) WGN America

Flashback #1: Netflix Eyeing Total of About 700 Original Series in 2018

Original scripted shows by year (% change YoY):
1) 2009–210
2) 2010–216 (↑ 3%)
3) 2011–266 (↑ 23%)
4) 2012–288 (↑ 8%)
5) 2013–349 (↑ 21%)
6) 2014–389 (↑ 12%)
7) 2015–422 (↑ 9%)
8) 2016–455 (↑ 8%)
9) 2017–487 (↑ 7%)
10) 2018P — 520 (↑ 6%)

Just 16% of U.S. broadband homes subscribe to 3+ video services according to Parks Associates.

High cost: Producing 1 hour of a scripted show costs most networks between $3–6M per hour! That is 10X the cost of an unscripted hour.

Flashback #2: TV Series Budgets Hit the Breaking Point as Costs Skyrocket in Peak TV Era

Cost per episode by show:
1) Game of Thrones (HBO) — $15m
2) The Crown (Netflix) — $10m
3) Jack Ryan (Amazon) — $8m
4) American Gods (Starz) — $8m
5) Stranger Things (Netflix) — $6m
6) American Crime Story (FX) — $6m
7) The Tick (Amazon) — $5m
8) Will (TNT) — $5m
9) Carpool Karaoke (Apple) — $2m

Quote from Michael Pachter — Research Analyst @ Wedbush Securities“It’s an arms race, and it’s going to be that way until somebody realizes they’re just beating their head against the wall and not getting anywhere,”

More: With The Rising Tide of Streaming Services, Tune-In Becomes Data Driven

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