Netflix’s content library is now 40% smaller than it was four years ago, according to Exstreamist. Netflix’s strategy of churning out as many original movies and original shows as possible is known to all, so a drop in the size of its content library may not matter much to subscribers.
Netflix’s content library is squeezed
Purchasing and developing content is now anything but a cheap endeavor, and this is why the streaming giant has scaled back its library with traditional publishing companies in recent years. Therefore, in August 2015, the streaming giant had no problems in allowing its licensing deal with Epix to expire. In the process, it lost thousands of movies, including titles like The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, The Wolf of Wall Street, and Transformers: Age of Extinction.
Over the past few years, the sheer volume of content available on Netflix has been reduced quite a lot as a result. The streaming giant’s content library now has 40% fewer titles today than it did in 2012, according to Exstreamist. In the U.S., the streaming service has just over 5,100 TV shows and movies available. The title count was nearly 9,000 toward the end of 2012 and early 2013.
Netflix might be decreasing the quantity of the content, but its original content, from Bloodline and Orange Is The New Black to Masters of None and BoJack Horseman, is arguably unrivaled. HBO has more hits than Netflix, but many of HBO’s popular shows stopped airing years ago, for instance, Sex and the City and The Sopranos.
Churning out quality content
Now, the question that arises is whether this drop in the amount of content actually matters. Everyone would agree that even though the content quantity has decreased, the content quality has skyrocketed. Apart from the increase in the volume of original programming, the other impressive thing is the fact that most of Netflix’s original shows of are bona fide hits.
It is practically impossible to keep a track of everything that the streaming giant has in the pipeline these days. Just last week, the streaming giant revealed plans to release a movie spinoff based on The Office and a new animated series based on the Skylanders video games franchise.
In pre-market trading today, Netflix shares were in the red. Year to date, the stock is down by over 18%, while in the last year, it is up just 1%. The stock has a 52-week high of $133.27 and a 52-week low of $79.95
