2023 was a lousy year for scripted shows in the U.S., which released 24% less content than in 2022, according to research from Ampere Analysis.
Strikes in Hollywood, budget cuts, and growing OTT interest in international content were the main reasons for the drop in U.S. scripted programs and series premieres in 2023, with 24% fewer productions released than the previous year, Ampere Analysis revealed in a study.
The British research firm’s report highlights that only 481 shows produced in the U.S. premiered, down from 633 shows premiering in 2022, a decrease that puts the future of “Peak TV” in check. According to Ampere, due to the time lag between a series’ approval and its premiere, the number is likely to stay the same in 2024.
The trend in overall TV offerings is leaning more toward international series than U.S. series, as observed by Ampere Analysis on the significant U.S. subscription streaming services.
Netflix released just 68 US-produced series in 2023, compared with 107 released in 2022, a drop that began well before the onset of the Hollywood strikes.
Other reductions came from Peacock (released 20 fewer titles), Hulu (11), Max (9), and Paramount+ (4). Other platforms, such as Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, and Disney+, roughly maintained the number of series they released in 2023; only Prime Video maintained the series it ordered.
According to Ampere, the possibility that the truncated seasons of ’23 and ’24 will be duplicated with full seasons of ’24 and ’25 starting in the fall may produce a temporary rebound in the seasons aired in 2024, a phenomenon that was already observed in 2021 after the peak of the COVID pandemic.
