Streaming services have come a long way from the days when the services were nothing more than a way to rent movies. Increasingly, the sites are winning both respect and accolades. In addition, they’ve become a way for an increasing group of creators to share content with an international audience. But what’s good for streaming services has challenged traditional television providers.
Let’s look at streaming services’ accomplishments by the numbers:
$2.5 billion: The amount Hulu CEO Mike Hopkins says the streaming site will spend on programing this year. The investment has paid off. In September, Hulu became the first streaming service to win an Emmy for best drama series for The Handmaid’s Tale. It also won nine other awards including for lead actress, supporting actress, directing and writing. The series was up against three Netflix series. Although Netflix did not win the top category, it was recognized with 20 Emmy wins including two for writing. Amazon was nominated but won no awards. This year, Netflix will spend $6 billion and Amazon will spend $4.5 billion on content. Source: tubefilter
More than 400: The number of scripted series airing in the United States this year. Of the top 50 showrunners in the business, several have created series for Netflix. These include: Aziz Ansari and Alan Yang, whose comedy series Master of None (top photo) received eight Emmy nominations and two wins; Robert Carlock and Tina Fey for Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt which was for a fourth season; Matt and Ross Duffer whose drama Stranger Things received 18 Emmy and Screen Actors Guild nominations, and Mitch Hurwtiz who specializes in niche projects and is responsible for bringing Arrested Development back to TV. Source: The Hollywood Reporter
32%: The percentage of first-time television directors who were women during the 2016-17 season, according to the Directors Guild of America. There were 73 women directors, up from 38 the prior season. Minorities also increased from 24 to 56, representing 25% of all directors while the number of female minority directors grew from six to 18. During the season, a record 225 first-time directors were hired. “The hiring decisions employers make today can have enormous impact on the composition of the pool in two years, five years, ten years’ time,” guild president Thomas Schlamme said. “Our research shows that when employers actually do the work of being inclusive, they find talented directors who overwhelmingly succeed in establishing longer-term careers.” Source: Variety
$394.3 million: The number of French TV exports last year, a record, according to the National Film and TV board CNC. Streaming services are partially responsible for this increase. Sales on streaming sites represented 24% of French television revenue. Meanwhile, sales to international networks increased a whopping 112.6% and reached $35 million. Federation Entertainment currently has three series in development for U.S. television. Source: Variety. Scandinavian television also has seen a boost thanks to Netflix. The streaming service has ordered two original series. HBO Europe also has committed to two or three original series. Source: Variety
300,000: The number of new subscribers to AT&T’s streaming service DirecTV now during the third quarter of this year. While this might sound impressive, it wasn’t enough to offset the 390,000 subscribers who left DirecTV and AT&T U-Verse. AT&T attributes the loss to increased competition as well as the effects of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Although traditional TV has a higher revenue gain when it comes to advertising, traditional providers are feeling the need to introduce their own streaming services. Cable provider Comcast also has suffered losses and plans a streaming service. Source: L.A. Biz
Image: Master of None © Netflix
