After four years of major studios employing a walled-garden approach to the distribution of their TV content on streaming, licensing is steadily making a comeback. The number of TV seasons cross-licensed between Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max and Discovery+ more than tripled in 2023, while Amazon’s overlap with studios' streaming services also grew significantly.

Common characteristics emerge among the studio TV titles licensed in recent major deals, including agreements between NBCUniversal, Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) and Netflix. These characteristics were used to formulate a ‘licensing power ranking’ and then applied to studio catalogues to identify the number of titles currently held back that meet these criteria. Titles with ‘licensing power’ fulfil the following criteria: they have completed their first run; have at least three seasons; are Scripted; of US-origin; and still maintain consumer engagement (measured with Ampere’s Popularity Score). Disney holds the most titles with licensing power, owning 148 that were still exclusive to its own streaming services as of December 2023 – a potential licensing cache more than double the size of any other major Hollywood studio.

Across all four major studios’ titles with licensing power, Comedy is the most common genre, accounting for 25%. This is driven by US audiences’ continued interest in a host of locally produced long-running sitcoms. Many of these ended their run long ago (including The Office, The Golden Girls and Seinfeld) but some are more recent hits (such as Brooklyn Nine-Nine). The enduring nature of these assets is a desirable characteristic for streamers. Their sheer volume can keep audiences engaged for longer, making them a valuable subscriber retention tool. This is particularly the case as churning and re-subscribing to subscription services is becoming an increasingly common behaviour. They are also effective in generating ad-revenue.

But not all identified titles with licensing power will necessarily be cross-licensed. Six of the 20 most popular titles in Paramount Global’s vault are in the Star Trek franchise. Studios were understandably reluctant to give up exclusivity for major franchises as they built their streaming services. But WBD’s 2023 deals to license recently released DC-adapted content to Amazon, Netflix and Tubi demonstrate that even strategies around exclusivity for core IP is now changing.

We expect more licensing deals for high profile titles to be struck in 2024 between major VoD providers. Studios’ strategies will need to carefully balance exclusivity and non-exclusivity to ensure their streaming offerings are distinct and compelling while also maximising the value of their content as it moves to a second window. Licensing can expand the audience for existing assets, extend shelf life and at the more successful end of the scale, inspire franchise expansion. This was the case with NBCUniversal when it commissioned a Suits spin-off following its success on Netflix. Such an approach is particularly beneficial in the current climate when commissioners are being increasingly cautious with their content spend.

Further analysis of the US studios’ emerging licensing strategies can be found here, while clients can read the full report here.