By Tim Westcott, Senior Principal Analyst at IHS Technology
Key points:
Production of original scripted series is continuing to grow in in the US. IHS Technology noted 324 drama and comedy (scripted) series produced by the big five networks, basic and pay cable, and online platforms in 2015, compared to 297 in 2014.
More than three quarters of new and returning shows launched in the latest network season (2015/2016) had sold to one or more of the key international territories at the time we closed our research.
The increasing roll out of online platforms, combined with the strategy of pay TV platforms to migrate US series quickly to their home markets, have led to a dramatic shortening of international release windows. In the UK, the average window was 37 days, down from 102 days.