Programming Trends
When it comes to television, and now streaming, there is always a set of genres that seem to be produced. If companies tap the proper niche then the cash flows freely and views go through the roof. While a good show will likely always garner somewhat of an audience there is competition around every corner.
In Demand Genres
Let's talk genres. The biggest seller is usually drama, this makes sense due to the number of hours adults over the age of about 25 watch TV, they crave a hearty story with emotional stakes. Action, Sci-fi, fantasy, and horror are also big sellers in the current market. If we take a look back there have been network slam dunks in all of these categories within the last 20 years, what I consider to be the modern age of television. Grey's Anatomy has been running since 2005 and still garnered 5.73 million+ viewers at it's season low in 2019. It has been firmly in a top 5 seat in the Drama/Romance category for years, it gets first mention because the show has a borderline cult following and fandom of its own. Other powerhouses in this category include The Bachelor with 7.8 million+ views in 2018, and it's audience is still growing. People hold viewing parties for this show like it's the super bowl. One of the most recent examples is a show now in it's fourth season called This Is Us which brought in 7.3 million+ views in 2019.
The action genre now has the subsection of "superhero" attached to it very frequently. In the past shows like Sons of Anarchy (7.54 million+ views), Breaking Bad (10 million views by the end of the series), and shows about law enforcement such as Hawaii Five-O (7.99 million viewers) ruled house holds. With the Marvel Cinematic Universe becoming one of the biggest audience holders on the planet the superhero/action content has jumped up, but they weren't the first to cash in on superhero hype.
We likely all have fond memories of watching Smallville (a personal favorite of mine) back in the early 2000's. With the series ending in 2011 we were all left with a hole in our hearts and TV's. Luckily the CW answered the cry for more superheros, and no we aren't talking about that awful Birds of Prey series. They debuted Arrow in 2012. This has since spawned the "Arrowverse". It is a blocking of shows that rakes in massive views and fills the CW's pockets with ease. Most of the shows average just under 2 million views an episode live. This universe includes the hugely popular series The Flash, Legend's of Tomorrow, Supergirl, Black Lightning, and most recently Batgirl. With their most recent and most ambitious crossover segment called "Crisis on Infinite Earths", fans of all DC superhero shows new in old were happy to see their favorite characters (even Smallville's own Clark Kent) make an appearance. Even the characters from Titans, one of the most in demand shows on streaming services for a short time, were present. As for the viewership of these shows? On cable they perform about average but they slay when they come to streaming services. This is likely how Marvel concocted the idea for it's multiple smash hit Netflix originals. Daredevil and Luke Cage were two of the most hyped up shows in their respective release years. With Disney+ taking full advantage of the superhero and Marvel Fandoms expect to see massive viewership for their upcoming projects called "Falcon and the Winter Soldier" and "WandaVision".
Lastly we'll touch on Sci-fi, fantasy and horror. Sci-fi had been touch and go since the famed days of the Star-Trek television series but one fandom is set to take over the galaxy (so to speak). The recent release of The Mandalorian series set in the Starwars universe is a must watch and tripled the subscriptions to Disney+ in it's first two weeks of airing. With a series following Obi-Wan Kenobi on the way expect these numbers to keep climbing in the future. While we're here i'm obligated to mention Stranger Things, it is without a doubt the most popular sci-fi show in television history, the numbers equate to the phrase "enough said".
Fantasy will be short and sweet. Formerly Game of Thrones reigned supreme with 17.4 million views, but since it is no longer running and the prequel series is a ways off that leaves a spot for a new contender. Toss a coin Netflix so you can catch up on the current fantasy obsession of troves of viewers, The Witcher. Upon clicking the previous link you'll find that 76 million households tuned in. With people sharing accounts and having multiple family members per household it is easy to see how massive these numbers are.
Horror. A tricky genre to say the least. Keeping it suitable for a wide audience but still keeping the quality of the show is difficult. The Walking Dead has slowed down in recent years but received a massive 17.3 million views at one point in it's fifth season. Netflix series like The Haunting of Hill House and Black mirror have picked up some of this slack for the horror community. As for traditional TV American Horror Story (5.7 million+ views in 2018) is carrying a significant load for the genre. It seems like this genre is still fairly ripe for the taking if a producer can nail the right concept.
All in all my conclusion is that many of the popular genres are being snatched up and dominated by streaming services. While I do not anticipate cable and satellite TV to give up on trying to win back viewers I would't find it strange for traditional viewership to drop further. While the reality TV aspect does help cable I can see streaming services starting to produce similar content so we'll have to see what the future holds for such programs and where they are viewed the most.
In Demand Genres
Let's talk genres. The biggest seller is usually drama, this makes sense due to the number of hours adults over the age of about 25 watch TV, they crave a hearty story with emotional stakes. Action, Sci-fi, fantasy, and horror are also big sellers in the current market. If we take a look back there have been network slam dunks in all of these categories within the last 20 years, what I consider to be the modern age of television. Grey's Anatomy has been running since 2005 and still garnered 5.73 million+ viewers at it's season low in 2019. It has been firmly in a top 5 seat in the Drama/Romance category for years, it gets first mention because the show has a borderline cult following and fandom of its own. Other powerhouses in this category include The Bachelor with 7.8 million+ views in 2018, and it's audience is still growing. People hold viewing parties for this show like it's the super bowl. One of the most recent examples is a show now in it's fourth season called This Is Us which brought in 7.3 million+ views in 2019.
The action genre now has the subsection of "superhero" attached to it very frequently. In the past shows like Sons of Anarchy (7.54 million+ views), Breaking Bad (10 million views by the end of the series), and shows about law enforcement such as Hawaii Five-O (7.99 million viewers) ruled house holds. With the Marvel Cinematic Universe becoming one of the biggest audience holders on the planet the superhero/action content has jumped up, but they weren't the first to cash in on superhero hype.
We likely all have fond memories of watching Smallville (a personal favorite of mine) back in the early 2000's. With the series ending in 2011 we were all left with a hole in our hearts and TV's. Luckily the CW answered the cry for more superheros, and no we aren't talking about that awful Birds of Prey series. They debuted Arrow in 2012. This has since spawned the "Arrowverse". It is a blocking of shows that rakes in massive views and fills the CW's pockets with ease. Most of the shows average just under 2 million views an episode live. This universe includes the hugely popular series The Flash, Legend's of Tomorrow, Supergirl, Black Lightning, and most recently Batgirl. With their most recent and most ambitious crossover segment called "Crisis on Infinite Earths", fans of all DC superhero shows new in old were happy to see their favorite characters (even Smallville's own Clark Kent) make an appearance. Even the characters from Titans, one of the most in demand shows on streaming services for a short time, were present. As for the viewership of these shows? On cable they perform about average but they slay when they come to streaming services. This is likely how Marvel concocted the idea for it's multiple smash hit Netflix originals. Daredevil and Luke Cage were two of the most hyped up shows in their respective release years. With Disney+ taking full advantage of the superhero and Marvel Fandoms expect to see massive viewership for their upcoming projects called "Falcon and the Winter Soldier" and "WandaVision".
Lastly we'll touch on Sci-fi, fantasy and horror. Sci-fi had been touch and go since the famed days of the Star-Trek television series but one fandom is set to take over the galaxy (so to speak). The recent release of The Mandalorian series set in the Starwars universe is a must watch and tripled the subscriptions to Disney+ in it's first two weeks of airing. With a series following Obi-Wan Kenobi on the way expect these numbers to keep climbing in the future. While we're here i'm obligated to mention Stranger Things, it is without a doubt the most popular sci-fi show in television history, the numbers equate to the phrase "enough said".
Horror. A tricky genre to say the least. Keeping it suitable for a wide audience but still keeping the quality of the show is difficult. The Walking Dead has slowed down in recent years but received a massive 17.3 million views at one point in it's fifth season. Netflix series like The Haunting of Hill House and Black mirror have picked up some of this slack for the horror community. As for traditional TV American Horror Story (5.7 million+ views in 2018) is carrying a significant load for the genre. It seems like this genre is still fairly ripe for the taking if a producer can nail the right concept.
All in all my conclusion is that many of the popular genres are being snatched up and dominated by streaming services. While I do not anticipate cable and satellite TV to give up on trying to win back viewers I would't find it strange for traditional viewership to drop further. While the reality TV aspect does help cable I can see streaming services starting to produce similar content so we'll have to see what the future holds for such programs and where they are viewed the most.
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