Much has been written about how streaming video, particularly the paid variety, has transformed the television industry. The discussion is usually about how viewers are throwing off the shackles of linear scheduling or shunning the interruptions of advertising. The explosion in the amount of content needed to feed the pipes of the platforms that provide these services has also received a lot of attention. But it’s not just the expansion of the programming pie that should draw our focus, it is how the slices of that pie are changing with consideration to the countries that are supplying content.
The US has been, and still is, the dominant supplier of television content to Europe. But as streaming platforms proliferate, and demand for programming increases, US share is declining. Moreover, the international platforms are competing against each other, as well as the local players, which is igniting demand for more local product. It seems inevitable that with more content, a greater diversity of sources producing it is required. In addition to finding programming from diverse, previously under-represented markets, the OTT services are teaming with local production companies and rediscovering homegrown talent in the countries they serve, spurred on in Europe by the relatively new EU policy requiring 30% of content be “European work.” All of this means a smaller slice of the pie is likely for US content going forward.
Regardless of whether one is a buyer or seller of content, it is important to understand the audience that content will serve, and understand it in a variety of dimensions. One of those dimensions can be country of origin as culture inevitably informs art. This paper from Whip Media and MIPTV will illustrate that dynamic and reveal what content from which countries are attracting viewers’ attention.
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