Peak TV: Here’s How Deep Streamers Cut Originals Output in 1H 2024

When Variety Intelligence Platform declared the death of peak TV earlier this year, the evidence was already clear that original television content was not going to rebound anytime soon. Market conditions in the TV industry, coupled with the fallout from 2023’s prolonged strikes, were poised to continue depressing series output for at least the following year and possibly longer. 

Now it’s possible to see just how much those factors have impacted TV this year. 

Data from Luminate Film & TV shows the number of original TV seasons released by the eight largest SVODs was down nearly 20% in the first half of 2024 versus the prior year (with releases accounted for through the end of June).  

From January to June, the platforms Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Max, Prime Video, Paramount+, Peacock and Apple TV+ collectively released 367 new seasons of television, versus 452 in 2023. 

Though the two largest dropoffs, proportionally speaking, took place at streamers owned by troubled legacy media companies — Disney+ was first with 54%; Paramount+ second with 35% — even the industry’s deep-pocketed tech players have been seeing pronounced shrinkage. 

While Netflix remains the undisputed top dog in terms of total series volume, the streamer’s H1 output fell about 14% this year, more than doubling its 6% decrease in 2023. Apple TV+, meanwhile, saw the third-largest proportional drop of the year with a 32% dip, and Amazon’s Prime Video notched fourth with 25%. 

Not every platform had such a significant contraction, however. Hulu released only four fewer original seasons in H1 ’24 versus ’23, while Max and Peacock released exactly the same number of titles in both years. 

Still, this is not exactly a sign that TV is back on the upswing. It’s worth noting, furthermore, that Max put out fewer live-action scripted series in H1 ’24 than H1 ’23 and that four of the shows released in those windows (“The Other Two,” “Titans,” “Tokyo Vice” and “The Girls on the Bus”) have ended or been canceled. 

Indeed, based on this data, 2024 looks poised to record another annual decline in original series output on SVOD platforms, making it only the second year ever to do so, following 2023. 

The year-on-year disparity could very well shrink in the July-December period, given that platforms truly began to feel the impact of cutbacks and the strikes at that time last year. (In fact, 2023’s drop in series output largely played out in the second half of the year; the number of seasons released by the eight largest SVODs actually increased year-over-year in the first half.) 

But barring a major surge in output in the back half of the year — and such an uptick is unlikely to take place — it seems TV is still in an era of contraction, furnishing further proof that its years of plenty have come to a decisive end.  

While 2025 will likely see output begin to climb upward again, the second coming of peak TV remains a remote (no pun intended) prospect.