See which platforms are canceling shows at the highest rate
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Key stat: Max canceled 26.9% of its shows between January 2020 and August 2023, ahead of streaming’s overall cancellation rate of 12.2%, according to Variety Intelligence Platform and Luminate.
Beyond the chart:
- Max purged content following its merger with Warner Bros. Discovery and its rebrand from HBO Max to Max, canceling shows at a higher rate than competitors like Disney+, Hulu, and Netflix.
- Multiple streamers, including Max, have turned to advertising. Just 20.4% of Max viewers are ad-supported right now, but that portion will grow in the years to come, according to our forecast.
- Meanwhile, Netflix is doing well as subscriptions soar past expectations. The streamer is increasing pricing and investing in new revenue streams like physical stores.
Use this chart:
- Compare consistency of content on streaming platforms.
- Contrast streaming and linear cancellation rates.
- Assess streaming ad strategy.
More like this:
- Streaming Service CPMs 2023 (Insider Intelligence subscription required)
- As streaming wars heat up, nearly three in 10 US internet households are canceling services to save money
- Seeking profitability, streamers increase subscription prices
- Disney and Spectrum reach a new deal that includes Disney+ and ESPN subscriptions
Methodology: Data is from the September 2023 Variety Intelligence Platform (VIP+) and Luminate report titled "The Show Must Go Off" as cited in Variety. This study was conducted by analyzing the TV content released by the eight largest U.S.-based subscription video services (Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, Prime Video, Max, Apple TV+, Paramount+ and Peacock) and major broadcast and cable networks during January 2020 and August 2023. Luminate provided data on the networks' content output, including premiere dates, season counts, genres and renewal status, which was analyzed by the Variety Intelligence Platform. Overall cancellation rates were determined by dividing the number of canceled continuing series that had their final season premiere between January 2020 and August 2023 by the total number of unique continuing series that had a season premiere within that timeframe.