Ampere: Netflix Leads FAANGs in Original Content Creation

New analysis by Ampere examines the original commissions coming from the FAANGs (Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google), led by Netflix with its original sci-fi and comedy series.

It finds that Netflix continues to lead the way in original content creation, though Facebook, Apple and Google-owned YouTube are making “unprecedented strides” in original content production. However, the FAANGs are facing more competition from both industry outliers and established brands, according to Ampere Analysis.

The creation of Disney’s direct-to-consumer service and others such as DC Universe in the streaming market has meant that content once provided to Netflix will now be the latter’s direct competition. Netflix is leading the commissioning landscape with more than 250 upcoming titles, and this will more than double as studios such as Disney remove successful content from the platform. Apple, YouTube and Facebook have 65 upcoming original titles between them. Though YouTube Premium appears to have fallen behind with the least new orders, the service has promised 50 new shows by the end of 2019.

Overall, comedy is the most-commissioned genre. Ampere’s 2018 Q2 consumer survey revealed sci-fi as the second favorite genre. Apple is following the lead of Amazon and Netflix with sci-fi as its top commission. Amazon has committed a higher proportion of new title commissioning to dramas, at 29 percent of upcoming titles compared with Netflix’s 17 percent. YouTube and Facebook have been increasing their volume of scripted content, with YouTube Premium focusing on youth-orientated comedy. They are moving away from reality content, with just 6 percent of new commissions compared to 32 percent of their current catalog.

Richard Cooper, analyst at Ampere, said: “With so much new content being produced across a range of subscription services, the FAANG group are under increasing pressure to create content that not only attracts new audiences but also prevents existing consumers from churning. All the major players have been expanding the number of original commissions in the face of an increasingly competitive market. Netflix is set to more than double its originals catalog, as is Apple. What’s interesting is the different audience profile that each of the FAANGs appear to be targeting with their originals content, suggesting they’re aiming at different niches within the SVOD market.”