Insights

The evolution of the United States TV & Streaming Landscape: Key Audience Trends and Consumer Insights for Major Platforms

4 April, 2024

2023 Insights - Full Year

United States television and streaming market share analysis 2022: Netflix, NBC, CBS, ABC and HBO. Please subscribe to DEMAND360LITE to access the latest version of The Global Television Demand Report and to discover the latest content analytics and trends for TV series on cable, broadcast, OTT and SVOD streaming platforms around the world.

United States genre and subgenre preferences for series

  • American audiences had the largest share of demand for the reality genre (19.0%) across all markets in this report.
  • Drama series accounted for 45.5% of demand for all series in the US in 2023. The US was the only market in this report where the share of demand for dramas fell below 50%.
  • The US was the most documentary-loving market in this report. The 13.9% share of demand for documentary series was larger than any other market in this report and significantly above the global shareof demand for documentary series – 8.3%.
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  • Americans’ love of documentaries is reflected especially in the true crime subgenre. This subgenre accounted for 2.4% of demand which is its largest demand share across markets in this report. This is also larger than the share of titles that true crime series account for (2.1%).
  • The property subgenre of shows is meeting audience needs in the US. The 0.7% of titles this subgenre accounts for drive 0.7% of demand. This is still a more than twice the global share of demand for property series (0.3%) indicating unique American interest in this subgenre.
  • Soap operas underperform in the US. While accounting for 3.1% of titles, this subgenre only drove 1.5% of demand in the US in 2023.
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United States originals share of demand and demand distribution

  • Netflix originals accounted for 8.6% of demand for all series in the US, the largest share of demand for shows in the US from any channel or platform in 2023.
  • Content from NBC achieved its largest demand share in the US (5.7%) among all markets in this report, above the global share of demand for its content 3.9%.
  • Shows from a Discovery channel or platform accounted for a larger share of demand in the US (3.0%) than in any other market in this report. Strong demand for Discovery content was helped by uniquely high demand in the US for both reality and documentary series.
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  • The Flash, a long-running superhero series from The CW ranked higher in the US than any other market in this report as the fifth most in-demand show with 54.7 times the average series demand. The final season of the show premiered in February 2023 and surpassed the demand of previous seasons.
  • Futurama returned as a Hulu original in 2023 after a ten-year hiatus. Audiences have been enthusiastic about revisiting this old favorite especially in the US where the show had 35.8 times the average series demand for the year.
  • The popularity of wrestling in the US is evident with the continued demand for WWE Monday Night Raw, which had 40.7 times the average series demand in 2023.
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Top series in the United States

Here are the top 20 most in-demand series in 2023 in the United States across all platforms:

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2023 Insights - Q3

State of streaming and television in the United States Q3 2023: Netflix, CBS, NBC, ABC, and HBO.

Please subscribe to DEMAND360LITE to access the latest version of The Global Television Demand Report and to discover the latest content analytics and trends for TV series on cable, broadcast, OTT and SVOD streaming platforms around the world.

Presented below is the section for the United States from The Global Television Demand Report. Enjoy!

United States genre and subgenre preferences for series

  • American audiences had the largest share of demand for the reality genre (15.2%) across all markets in this report.
  • With a 27.8% share of demand, the US was the market with the lowest interest in the drama genre in Q3 2023. It was the only market in this report with less than 30% demand share for this genre.
  • Demand for documentary content is high in the US. The 8.1% share of demand for this genre was substantially higher than in other markets we looked at in this report.
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  • The US was the only market in this report in which sitcom was the most in-demand subgenre of Q3 2023.
  • The US was the only market in this report where the animated comedy subgenre ranked in the ten most in-demand subgenres for the quarter. Animated comedy was the eighth most in-demand subgenre.
  • Only two of the ten most in-demand subgenres in the US were drama subgenres. As drama makes up a less dominant share of demand in the US than in other markets, a greater variety of subgenres tend to rank highly here.
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United States originals share of demand and demand distribution

  • Netflix was the leading platform in the US in terms of demand for its original content. 8.5% of demand for shows in the US was for a Netflix original. This is actually below Netflix’s global share of demand (9.7%).
  • It was a close race between NBC and CBS for the second largest share of demand in the US. Both networks were tied with a 5.6% share of demand in this market. However, NBC’s share of demand in the US was higher than in any other market in this report indicating high domestic demand for NBC content while CBS shows tended to capture more demand abroad.
  • 3.0% of demand for shows in the US was for a show from a Discovery branded channel or platform. This was a larger share of demand for content from Discovery than in any other market in this report, driven by high demand for reality and documentary shows in the US.
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  • Hulu’s revival of the classic animated comedy, Futurama, has stoked audience demand for the show. Futurama had 50.7 times the average series demand in Q3 and ranked as the fourth most in-demand show in the US, a higher rank than in any other market in this report.
  • The Australian cartoon Bluey has won the hearts of kids around the world. The United States, where it had 31.7 times the average series demand, has been a particularly receptive market for this show.
  • Suits, the USA Network show that ended in 2019 has experienced a resurgence of audience demand this year after coming to Netflix without releasing any new episodes, underscoring how simply being available on a platform with Netflix’s reach can drive demand for a show higher.
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Top series in the United States

Here are the top 20 most in-demand series in Q3 2023 in the United States across all platforms:

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Please subscribe to DEMAND360LITE to access the latest version of The Global Television Demand Report.

2023 Insights - Q2

United States television and streaming market share analysis Q2 2023: Netflix, CBS, NBC, ABC, and HBO: Please subscribe to DEMAND360LITE to access the latest version of The Global Television Demand Report and to discover the latest content analytics and trends for TV series on cable, broadcast, OTT and SVOD streaming platforms around the world.

Please subscribe to DEMAND360LITE to access the latest version of The Global Television Demand Report and to discover the latest content analytics and trends for TV series on cable, broadcast, OTT and SVOD streaming platforms around the world.

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Presented below is the section for the United States from The Global Television Demand Report. Enjoy!

United States genre and subgenre preferences for series

  • American audiences had the largest share of demand for the reality genre (15.1%) across all markets in this report. 
  • With a 27.5% share of demand, the US was the market with the lowest interest in the drama genre in Q2 2023. It was the only market in this report with less than 30% demand share for this genre.
  • The U.S share of demand for the documentary genre (8.1%) was the largest in this report and significantly higher than the global share of demand for this genre (5.1%).
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  • The U.S was the only market in this report in which sitcom was the most in-demand subgenre of Q2 2023.
  • The cartoon subgenre of children’s content ranked higher in the US than in any other market in this report as the seventh most in-demand subgenre.
  • Animated comedy achieved its highest rank in the US in this report as the eighth most in-demand subgenre.
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United States originals share of demand and demand distribution

  • Of all markets in this report, Netflix originals made up the largest share of demand for shows in the US. Original series from the streamer accounted for 8.2% of all demand in the US in Q2 2023.
  • Of the major broadcast networks, CBS had the largest share of demand for its original content in the U.S. It ranked second in terms of its demand share and accounted for 5.8% of demand for all series in Q2 2023.
  • Original content from The Discovery Channel and Discovery+ made up a larger share of demand in the U.S than in any other market in this report (3.0%), reflecting the popularity of
    reality and documentary content in this market.
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  • The long running superhero series from The CW, The Flashranked as the second most in-demand show in the US this quarter with 70.8 times the average series demand. This was a higher rank for this show than in any other market in this report. The show ended its 9 season run on May 24th this year.
  • There was high demand in the US for Outlander, from Starz. The show had 38.6 times the average series demand and ranked as the 22nd most in-demand series for the quarter after premiering its seventh season on June 16th, a higher rank than in any other market in this report.
  • High US demand for Futurama in Q2 2023, even though the show ended in 2003, bodes well for the show’s reboot on Hulu which premiered on July 24th.
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Top series in the United States

Here are the top 20 most in-demand series in Q2 2023 in the United States across all platforms:

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Please subscribe to DEMAND360LITE to access the latest version of The Global Television Demand Report.

2022 Insights - Full Year

United States television and streaming market share analysis 2022: Netflix, NBC, CBS, ABC and HBO. Please subscribe to DEMAND360LITE to access the latest version of The Global Television Demand Report and to discover the latest content analytics and trends for TV series on cable, broadcast, OTT and SVOD streaming platforms around the world.

Presented below is the section for the United States from The Global Television Demand Report. Enjoy!

United States digital original genre and subgenre preferences

  • American audiences had the largest share of demand for the reality genre (15.6%) across all markets in this report.
  • With a 27.4% share of demand, the US was the market with the lowest interest in the drama genre in 2022. It was the only market with less than 30% demand share for this genre.
  • The US had one of the highest shares of demand for documentary content (8.0%). This was well above the global share of demand for this genre (5.2%).
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  • The US was the only market in this report in which sitcom was the most in-demand subgenre of 2022.
  • The US was the only market where the cartoon subgenre ranked in this report. The subgenre lies at the intersection of animation and children’s content, two popular genres in the US.
  • As the tenth most in-demand subgenre of 2022 animated comedy only broke into the top ten most in-demand subgenres in the US, but not in any other market in this report.
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United States platform demand share and digital originals demand distribution

  • Netflix originals accounted for 8.4% of demand for all series in the US, the largest share of demand for shows from any channel or platform in 2022.
  • Content from NBC achieved its largest demand share in the US (5.8%) among all markets in this report, above the global share of demand for its content 4.0%.
  • Shows from FOX accounted for a larger share of demand in the US (3.5%) than in any other market in this report.
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  • Stranger Things was the most in-demand show in the US in 2022 with 88.53 times the average series demand. The show was the most in-demand show globally also after returning for its long awaited fourthseason this year.
  • The lasting demand for Seinfeld in the US is example of how popular classic sitcoms can be in the US. The show had 25.59 times the average series demand in 2022 and ranked as the 46th most in-demand show, a higher rank than in any other market in this report.
  • The Showtime drama, Billions, achieved its highest rank in the US in this report where it ranked as the 20th most in-demand series of 2022 with 31.37 times the average series demand.
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Top digital original series in the United States

Here are the top 20 most in-demand streaming original series in 2022 in the United States across all platforms:

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Please subscribe to DEMAND360LITE to access the latest version of The Global Television Demand Report.

2022 Insights - Q2

The state of streaming and TV in the United States Q2 2022: Netflix, NBC, CBS, ABC, HBO and Disney: Wondering who is winning in the streaming wars in the United States in Q2, 2022?

Please subscribe to DEMAND360LITE to access the latest version of The Global Demand Report and to discover the latest content analytics and trends for TV series on cable, broadcast, OTT and SVOD streaming platforms around the world.

Presented below is the section for the United States from The Global Demand Report. Enjoy!

United States Genre and Subgenre Preferences for Series

  • American audiences gave the largest shares of demand to comedy (15.3%), documentary (7.8%) and reality(15.6%) genres across all markets in this report.
  • With 10.7% share of demand, the US was one of the three markets with the lowest interest in the animation genre in Q2 2022.
  • Despite having strong demand for shows like Stranger Things (108.5x), Better Call Saul (48.9x) and Game of Thrones (47.5x), the US showed the second lowest share of demand to the drama genre.
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  • Along with Egypt, the US was the only market not to rank Japanese animation as the top 2 most in-demand subgenre this report.
  • Sitcom ranked higher in the US than any other market in this report and was the most in-demand subgenre in the US for Q2 2022. This subgenre only ranked in the top 3 most in-demand in Norway and Romania in this report.
  • Superhero Series were very successful this quarter. The subgenre ranks in the top 10 most in-demand in all markets in this report.
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United States Originals Share of Demand and Demand Distribution

  • Content from NBC achieved its largest demand share in the US. The 5.9% of demand share generated by American audiences was higher than the global share of demand for the platform (4.0%) in the quarter.
  • Apple TV+ (1.4%) and FX (1.4%) originals had the lowest shares of demand in the US in Q2 2022.
  • In Q2 2022, content from Fox experienced great success in the US where it made up its largest share of demand for originals with 3.6%.
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  • Stranger Things was the most in-demand show in the US in Q2 2022 with 108.5 times the average series demand.
  • Spongebob Squarepants was the most in-demand children’s show in the US in Q2 2022 with 70.3 times the average series demand and was the only Nickelodeon series ranked in the top 100 in the market.
  • The Mandalorian was Disney+’s most in-demand series in the US this quarter with 36.8 times the average series demand.
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Top Series in the United States

Here are the top 20 most in-demand series in Q2 2022 across all platforms and networks in the United States:

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2021 Insights - Full Year

The leading SVOD platforms in the United States 2021: Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Hulu, Apple TV+ and more. Please subscribe to DEMAND360LITE to access the latest version of The Global Television Demand Report and to discover the latest content analytics and trends for TV series on cable, broadcast, OTT and SVOD streaming platforms around the world.

Presented below is the section for the United States from The Global Television Demand Report. Enjoy!

United States digital original genre and subgenre preferences

  • The United States has the lowest demand share for drama originals in the report–32.3%. It is the only market where drama captures less than 40% of demand. This was the first year where the genre accounted for less than a third of digital original demand in the US.
  • Of all the markets in this report, the demand share is highest in the USA for digital original series in three genres–children’s (8.6%), documentary (10.4%), & reality (7.0%). All three of these genres grew their demand share in the US this year compared to 2020.
  • Despite some of the biggest digital original premieres of the year being superhero series, theaction/adventure genre’s share of demand actually shrank in the US this year, down from 12.8% in 2020.
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  • Comedy drama ranked higher in the US than any other market in this report. It was the second most in-demand digital original subgenre. However, the gap this year between comedy drama and the top ranked superhero series subgenre has grown from only 4% last year to a 13% difference in 2021.
  • The US is the only market in this report where children’s school-age content ranked in the ten most in-demand subgenres for the year. It was the 8thmost in-demand subgenre, just behind another children’s subgenre–cartoon.
  • American’s love of documentaries is apparent here as well. The US was the only market in this report where a documentary subgenre, true crime, ranked in the ten most in-demand subgenres.
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United States platform demand share and digital originals demand distribution

  • Netflix titles accounted for 45% of demand for all digital original titles in the United States in 2021. This is a drop of 5.5% compared to its annual share of demand in 2020.
  • Amazon Prime Video had the second largest share of demand for original content in the US in 2021 (8.8%). This has not been consistent for the entire year however. In each month of Q3 2021, Disney+ managed to have a larger share of US demand for its originals than Amazon Prime Video.
  • The US is the market in this report with the largest share of demand for content from ‘Other’ platforms not broken out here (14.5%). This reflects a maturing streaming landscape with many platforms making originalcontent for the market.
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  • The most in-demand digital original series in the United States for 2021 is Stranger Things. Despite having last released episodes in 2019, demand for the show has stayed high as fans eagerly await the next season.
  • Star Wars: The Clone Wars, from Disney+, ranked higher in the US than any other market in this report. It was the 8th most in-demand digital original in 2021. Tie-ins to new episodes of The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett kept this show relevant and in-demand this year.
  • Apple TV+’s quirky musical comedy, Schmigadoon!, saw particular success in America this year where it had nearly 9 times the average series demand in 2021.
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United States platform demand share for drama and action/adventure digital originals

  • Originals from Netflix accounted for a slim majority of demand for digital original dramas in the US (50.3%) in 2021. This is down from the platform’s 55.4% share of drama demand in 2020.
  • Apple TV+ was one of the platforms that saw the largest growth in its digital original share of demand for dramas this year. In 2021 it accounted for 7.9% of demand for all digital original dramas, up from 6.8% in 2020.
  • Across the ten markets in this report, HBO Max had the lowest share of demand for original dramas in both the US and Germany. In each market, HBO Max originals made up 3.0% of demand for digital original dramas.
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  • After a year of chart-topping superhero series, Disney+ accounted for the largest share of US demand for digital originals in the action/adventure genre. With a 30.4% share of demand here, Disney+ edged out Netflix by less than 1%.
  • Netflix reclaimed the top spot in the final two months of the year, surging to a 38.8% share of demand for original series in the action/adventure genre by December 2021.
  • HBO Max came closest to overtaking the two leaders in this genre in October 2021 when its originals accounted for 24.5% of US demand for all action/adventure originals.
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Top digital original series in the United States

Here are the top 20 most in-demand streaming original series in 2021 across all platforms:

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2021 Insights - Q2

United States streaming market share analysis Q2 2021: Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Apple TV+ and more: Wondering who is winning in the streaming wars in the United States in Q2, 2021?

Please subscribe to DEMAND360LITE to access the latest version of The Global Television Demand Report and to discover the latest content analytics and trends for TV series on cable, broadcast, OTT and SVOD streaming platforms around the world.

Presented below is the section for the United States from The Global Television Demand Report. Enjoy!

United States Digital Original Genre and Subgenre Preference

  • The US is the market in this report with lowest share of demand action/adventure (11.7%) originals. The Q2 2021 demand share for this genre is down from 12.5% in Q1 2021.
  • Of all the markets in this report, the demand share is highest in the USA for digital original series in four genres-children (9.3%), comedy (18.7%), documentary (10.5%), and reality (6.5%).
  • The documentary genre (10.5%) continued to see strong growth. In 2020 this genre accounted for 9% of digital original demand, in Q1 2021 it had grown to 9.9%
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  • American audiences love comedy. Not only is the demand share for digital original comedies well above the global average (15.5%), the sitcom and comedy drama subgenres rank higher here than in any of the markets in this report. The animated comedy subgenre was also among the top 10 here.
  • Reflecting the unique popularity of the documentary genre here, the US was the only market in this report where a documentary subgenre made it into the top 10. True crime was the tenth most in-demand subgenre for digital originals in Q2 2021.
  • As with five of the markets in this report, sci-fi drama was the most in-demand subgenre for the quarter in the US. It had the narrowest lead over superhero series here with only 1% more demand over the quarter.
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United States Platform Demand Share and Digital Originals Demand Distribution

  • Netflix titles accounted for 46.0% of demand for all digital original titles in the United States in Q2 2021. This is below the global share of demand for originals from the platform–48.3%
  • Originals from Amazon Prime Video accounted for the smallest share of demand in the US out of markets in this report with a 9.3% share in Q2 2021.
  • The share of demand for originals from Other platforms not broken out here amounted to 14.9% of demand in the US in Q2 2021. This is the largest share of demand for this category out of markets in this report and an increase from last quarter’s share. The US is a crowded market for streaming content and is only getting more competitive.
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  • The most in-demand digital original series in the US for Q2 2021 is Stranger Things. It had 42.2times the demand of the average title in the US. Cobra Kai also topped the ranking in Russia and Spain this quarter.
  • The Shudder original, Creepshow, had 10.5 times the average series demand in the US this quarter.It also ranked higher in this market than any other market in this report as the 56th most in-demand digital original.
  • Peacock’s Rutherford Falls performed well in the US. It was 8.3 times more in demand than the average series here.
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United States Platform Demand Share for Drama & Action/Adventure Digital Originals

  • When considering only demand for drama originals, Netflix still accounts for a majority of demand in the US – 53.1%. This is slightly below the 53.9% global share of demand Netflix has in the drama genre.
  • Drama series from Paramount+ made up 4.2% of demand for original dramas in the US in Q2 2021. This is the platform’s largest share of demand in the drama genre of markets in this report.
  • The share of demand for Apple TV+ dramas was 7.2% in the US. This is above the platform’s 5.6% share of demand for dramas globally. Additionally, the platform has grown its share by nearly 1% over the quarter.
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  • In the US, the share of demand for action/adventure originals from Disney+ was 32.9%. This is the second smallest action/adventure demand share for the platform in this report and below its global share (34.2%).
  • HBO Max had its largest share of demand for action/adventure originals in the US out of the markets we looked at. Its 17.5% share of demand in this genre here is well above its global share (11.5%).
  • American audiences gave 10.5% of demand for digital original action/adventure series to anAmazon Prime Video original. This is below the platform’s global share in the genre (15.3%).
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Top Digital Original Series in the United States

Here are the top 20 most in-demand streaming original series in Q2 2021 across all platforms in the US:

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2021 Insights - Q1

Parrot Analytics supply and demand trend reports reveal trends in audience content demand against industry supply for microgenres. Series usually belong to multiple microgenres within an overarching main genre, for example Star Trek: Discovery is a drama series that has the action and science-fiction microgenres.

In this report, we look at which microgenres are most represented in the available series in this market, which are best at attracting audience attention and which have the biggest gap between these two – representing either opportunity or warning. Lastly, how are these trends shifting and what is audience attention moving towards?

The key questions investigated in this report:

1. What does the content landscape look like in the United States?

2. Where are the largest whitespace opportunities in the United States?

3. Which genres are trending towards increased whitespace in the United States?

What does the content landscape look like in the United States?

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• This chart shows how the supply and demand compares for each microgenre in the US to reveal content opportunities.

• One of the most undersaturated microgenres is superhero series. The typical superhero series has around 3.5 times the demand of the average series in a microgenre, but there are about 80% less titles in this microgenre than average.

• Late night talk shows and paranormal series also sit in this high demand but low supply region.

• Conversely, other microgenres are oversaturated in this market. Romance series have a high level of supply, containing 3.5 times as many series as the average microgenre. However, the typical romance series only has about half of the average demand, making the microgenre the most oversaturated in the United States.

• The sci-fi and fantasy microgenres both sit around the equilibrium line. Both have more than the average amount of titles, but the typical series in one of these genres has more demand as well.

Where are the largest whitespace opportunities in the United States?

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• For the United States between January to March 2021, late night talk shows have the greatest whitespace potential. Compared to all microgenres, late night talk shows have around 10% of the average number of titles, yet the typical late night talk show has slightly more than double the average demand.

• While it is difficult to incorporate late night talk show elements into other formats, producers of scripted series can observe that suspense and survival elements are desired by US audiences, but few shows currently supply this demand.

• Superhero and western series are another whitespace opportunity. The demand/supply ratio for these microgenres is similar to late night talk shows.

• While large-scale trends are not a guarantee of individual success in the US market, it is less risky than average to produce or acquire shows that are in (or incorporate significant elements of) these microgenres.

Which genres are trending towards increased whitespace in the United States?

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• US interest in mockumentary content is growing much quicker than the supply of titles in the microgenre. Compared to January to March 2020, the mockumentary microgenre added much more demand than supply.

• The main factor driving the larger whitespace for pre-school content is higher audience demand. The Demand Index is now 34% higher than the average demand for a title in a microgenre while last year, it was around 20% below average.

• The increase in whitespace potential for these types of content was helped by slow increases in number of titles. For all the microgenres shown here, their supply index shrank from last year: the average microgenre (shown on the chart as the Market Index) grew faster than these specific microgenres did.

This report is intended as a high-level overview of supply and demand trends in this market. DEMAND360 Enterprise users have access to a dedicated supply and demand analysis tool enabling insights into trends for specific platforms, title filters, custom timeframes and more in the Demand360 platform. To unlock access to these features, enquire about Enterprise subscription details here.

2020 Insights - Full Year

United States streaming market share analysis 2020: Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Disney+, Apple TV+ and more: Presented below is the section for the United States from The Global Television Demand Report. Enjoy!

Please subscribe to DEMAND360LITE to access the latest version of The Global Television Demand Report and to discover the latest content analytics and trends for TV series on cable, broadcast, OTT and SVOD streaming platforms around the world.

United States digital original genre and subgenre preferences

  • At 34.7%, the USA has by far the lowest demand share for drama originals in the report. It is the only market where this genre captures less than 40% of demand.
  • Of all the markets in this report, the demand share is highest in the USA for digital original series in five genres. These are animation (6.0%), children (8.0%), comedy (18.7%), documentary (9.0%), & reality (6.0%).
  • The documentary (9.0%) and reality (6.0%) genres saw the largest growth in demand share in 2019, up from 4.1% and 3.6% share last year respectively. The US was the only market in this report where the action/adventure genre lost demand share in 2020. Its demand share decreased by -1.2% from 2019.
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  • American audiences’ interest in comedy is apparent here. Both the sitcom and comedy drama subgenre ranked more highly here than in any of the markets in this report.
  • The USA’s most in-demand subgenre of 2020 is sci-fi drama. This subgenre was also the most in-demand subgenre in the US in 2019.
  • The United States is the only market in the report where two children’s subgenres are among the ten most in-demand. Cartoon and children’s (school age) were the 7th and 8th most in-demand subgenres in 2020. Each moved up two places from its 2019 rank.
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United States platform demand share and digital originals demand distribution

  • Netflix titles accounted for 50.5% of demand for all digital original titles in the United States in 2020. This represents a -7.3% decline compared to its annual share of demand in 2019.
  • Both Apple TV+ and Disney+ grew their demand shares in the USA since launching in November 2019, reaching 4.4% and 5.4% demand share respectively for 2020.
  • Amazon Prime Video and Hulu have maintained their demand shares relatively well in the face of rising competition from new entrants. The demand share of each decreased by less than -1% compared to last year.
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  • The most in-demand digital original series in the United States for 2020 is Disney+’s The Mandalorian. It was 55.1 times more in-demand than the average title in the US, making it one of the 0.2% of titles that are classed as Exceptional.
  • Despite last releasing episodes in July 2019, Stranger Things was the second most in-demand digital original in the US for 2020. It averaged 41.8 times the demand of the average series, a testament to the lasting popularity of this Netflix original.
  • Defending Jacob was 10.7 times more in-demand than the average series. This was Apple TV+’s most popular original series in the US for 2020.
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United States platform demand share for drama and action/adventure digital originals

  • With 55.4% demand share for digital original drama titles, Netflix accounts for a majority of demand expressed in this category. This is a larger YoY decrease in demand share than Netflix saw from 2018 to 2019, indicating an acceleration of the loss of its dominant position in the drama genre.
  • Hulu was able to slightly grow its US demand share for digital original dramas in the face of increasing competition. It is up from its 10.3% demand share last year.
  • In the year following its launch, Apple TV+ has carved out a respectable share of demand for drama digital originals with a 6.8% share of demand in the US.
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  • In 2020 the action/adventure genre has become even more fragmented. While 2019 looked like a two-way contest between Netflix and DC Universe, this year four platforms each have a greater than 10% demand share.
  • Disney+ has the second highest demand share of original action/adventure series. Its 18.6% share in 2020 is largely due to the dominance of The Mandalorian. With multiple Marvel and Star Wars series on the horizon it looks to continue its growth in this genre.
  • Following the winding down of DC Universe’s streaming operations, HBO Max became the home of the popular DC superhero series. Picking up these highly in-demand shows and making them HBO Max originals was a smart move that allowed the platform to have a strong launch this year.
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Top digital original series in the United States

Here are the top 20 most in-demand streaming original series in 2020 across all platforms:

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