TBI Tech & Analysis: How US streamers are getting animated

Diary Of A Wimpy Kid

As those working in the kids animation business prepare to head to Cannes for MIPJr this weekend, Omdia analyst Tim Westcott digs into the numbers to reveal just how big a role animated content plays in the overall offering of the major US streamers.

Nobody can deny the rising importance of animation to global streaming services – particularly children’s content that can drive subscriber retention.

In-fact, most of the leading US on-demand services offer animation, targeting either younger or adult viewers, but when it comes to the percentage of their catalogues devoted to animation, it is Disney+ that takes the overall crown.

The Mouse House streamer has far more of a focus on animation than its competitors, with the medium making up 35% of titles in the Disney+ catalogue in Q2 2022. This is substantially higher than the 12% for Netflix and HBO Max, while Peacock (10%), Paramount+ (6%) and Amazon (5%) lag further.

For most services, scripted drama and comedy are the key genres on SVOD. For Netflix, scripted represented 58% of its overall offer in Q2 2022, and 31% of Amazon’s SVOD offering. For animation leader Disney+ though, scripted represented just 30% of its offer, compared to the 35% total of its animation titles.

Putting percentages aside, however, and it is AVOD service Tubi that comes out in front in terms of volume, with 1,523 animation titles as of Q2 2022. Crunchyroll offered just under 1,400 anime titles.

Netflix was actually just ahead of Disney+ with 539 animation titles (a total that includes adult-focused shows as well as animation for children).

Tubi also came top in terms of theatrical animation titles, with 262, but Disney+ was not far behind with 227. Netflix had 77 animated movies, with Amazon offering 69.

An original idea

Those figures, however, cover all animation present on the streamers, rather than indicating how much animation is being originated for those services.

Apple TV+, which has the smallest catalogue of the major US SVOD services, actually has the highest proportion of original animation at 61% of its total animation offering.

Tubi, as discussed above, has the largest animation offer in total, but none of its titles are original to the AVOD service, while Disney+’s original animation still only makes up 6% of its total.

Netflix, without a library to draw on, has a high level of origination at 46%, while for Amazon the share is less than 5%.

Since 2013, Netflix has originated far more animation than other SVOD platforms: a total of 489 titles, while Amazon started with several original series but is now well behind its main streaming rival.

Other players, like Disney+ and Paramount+, are able to bolster their offerings by drawing on massive libraries of existing film and TV titles.

The excerpt above is taken from the Omdia presentation, ‘Global streaming platforms: A new window for animation’. It was compiled by Tim Westcott, senior principal analyst for digital content & channels at Omdia, which like TBI, is part of Informa.