TV Loves Its Own: Why Movies Fizzle On The 75 Inch Screen

Sorry, Belle, but the tale as old as time that we’re exploring today is not a Disney romance. Instead, we’re looking at a long-running debate that has captured the minds of industry observers for decades: Television vs Film. 

When TVs truly went mainstream in America during the 1950s, many feared it would bring about the death of cinema. Instead, it soon became apparent that the two mediums were additive to one another. Eventually, with big theatrical films making their way to television in Pay 1 windows, it was obvious that a symbiotic relationship could exist between the two. 

Now, that is still the case today. Recent theatrical films tend to be first-choice options on streaming, movies that were released in theaters tend to perform as well or better than straight-to-streaming movies, and deep libraries of films help to reduce churn. But the situation is a bit more binary than in eras past because TV series are simply more valuable to streaming services overall than movies. 

Let’s use Netflix as a benchmark since it is the most saturated platform in the US. In all of the last eight quarters, TV’s share of total catalog demand on the platform has outstripped film’s, according to Parrot Analytics. In that span, the demand share generated by TV series has never dipped below 55% of total catalog demand. Yes, movie demand share is on the rise, but that can be directly attributed to the increase in licensed theatrical films brought to Netflix in recent quarters. From an originals perspective, the value proposition is clear: TV wins. 

TV shows provide more bingeable units, longer engagement sessions and more advertising opportunities than movies. Audiences tend to consume movies in one sitting while a single season of TV can elicit multiple app visits over weeks. There’s a reason new Netflix movie head honcho Dan Lin is reportedly reducing the volume of original movies by a significant margin. TV tends to contribute more subscription growth, retention capabilities and revenue generation than movie, per Parrot Analytics Content Valuation and Streaming Metrics data. 

Now, original movies still help Netflix and other streamers build up market share in key overseas regions. That’s helpful as domestic growth plateaus and becomes harder to come by. But Troll, Netflix’s most-watched non-English film ever, is still 33% smaller than the streamer’s 10th most-watched English movie in self-reported global hours viewed. So the non-English hits are still multiples smaller than their counterparts. 

Original movies also help build relationships with key talent that leads to multi-faceted contributions. Netflix’s relationship with David Fincher on the film side led to Mindhunter, arguably the service’s best original TV series; Barry Jenkins made Underground for Amazon. But this also reinforces the TV over movie hierarchy in this current streaming climate. 

I love movies and believe big theatrical films tend to direct pop culture more than TV shows while also driving famous flywheels. But if we’re looking at it from the perspective of a streaming business model, TV shows simply provide more bang for your buck.