These 3 Streamers Are In Best Position To Weather The Writers Strike

The writers’ strike has entered its second month and there is no end in sight. The Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers remain at odds on a number of issues, including streaming rights, writing room staffing and the use of artificial intelligence.

As entertainment providers adjust to this new reality and production from late-night TV shows to new scripted series grinds to a halt, the question is who will be hit hardest by the strike.

A new report from Parrot Analytics, a global entertainment analytics company, suggests that some streamers are better placed than others to weather this period, no matter how long it lasts.

“The lack of new scripted content could increase consumption of unscripted shows as viewers seek alternatives to their usual binge-watching offerings. However, the need for a diverse and rich supply of unscripted content to replace the scripted shows poses a significant logistical challenge,” the report said.

Parrot points out that during the last WGA strike, which lasted for several months in 2007-2008, broadcasters saw a significant increase in viewership of unscripted content, which became the only content available after broadcasters canceled the shipments had used up. Shows how survivor, Big Brother And celebrity apprentice prospered

With this in mind, Parrot examined which streaming networks are best prepared for a prolonged shutdown “based on the platform’s content catalogs and their reliance on scripted and unscripted content”.

1. Discovery+ (now Max)

Which one is in the best shape? That appears to be Discovery+ (which recently merged with Warner Bros. sister company HBO Max to become megastreamer Max), and it makes sense. Prior to the merger, Discovery+ was known for its unscripted content, which reflects the Discovery family of cable brands from TLC to HGTV to Food Network, which is relatively cheap to produce and easy to produce. According to a study by Parrot, 95 percent of Discovery+ content is unwritten.

1. peacock

Second is NBCUniversal’s “Peacock” – 40% of the content is unscripted. With rights to Bravo hits like the Real Housewives franchise and Vanderpump Rules, Peacock is well positioned to succeed without new script content. Namely the youngest Vanderpump According to Samba TV, Season 10 Reunion Part 1 attracted 514,000 households upon release on Peacock on May 25, with a Bravo audience of 1.1 million households. So there’s clearly an interest in shows like this, even if the runtime is still way off.

1. Paramount+

Paramount+ had the third highest proportion of unscripted plans at 35%. A full fifth of viewership comes from unscripted shows, mostly mega hits RuPaul’s Drag Racewhich also airs on Hulu and CBS programs like survivor.

What about the Big Three?

Not coincidentally, Hulu ranks fourth with 30% unscripted content, including licensed shows like Practical jokers.

The other Big Three streamers, Amazon Prime and Netflix, have significantly fewer unscripted offerings. Take note of the report. “Platforms like Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max, and Netflix rely less on unscripted shows, indicating lower demand and supply shares of this type of content.”

A Moody’s report earlier this month also predicted that streamers with libraries that rely on more than one type of core content would do best during the strike. “Least at risk would be well-financed global streaming platforms, as well as large studios and broadcasters with broader and more global production and libraries that are well diversified beyond television and film and have relatively strong balance sheets,” the report said.

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