Streaming services like Disney+ have gotten more expensive, but many are at least offering more bang for their buck.
Streaming guide Reelgood put together a breakdown of the various subscription services and their libraries, and found a virtually all of them have seen their catalogs of films and shows have grown over the years. Both Disney+ and Hulu have seen their libraries nearly double between 2021 and October 2023, which is likely cold comfort after Walt Disney raised the prices on both services that last month.
But the real gainer is sleeper streaming service Peacock, which saw its total library increase 4.5 times over the same period. The number of shows rose 420.4% to 3,950, and its movies rose 209.8% to 1,171, according to Reelgood. The only other service which saw a similar gain was Apple TV+, which saw its total catalog nearly quadruple, although it has a far smaller library than its rivals.
The gains show that despite the price increases that have hit every streaming service, there is more content than ever for a cord cutter. But content doesn’t necessarily equate to quality, and the number of titles also doesn’t translate to streaming success, with Peacock among the least-viewed streaming services among the major players.
While nearly every service saw growth, Amazon’s Prime Video was actually the only one to see a decrease in its catalog. Over the last two years, the number of films fell by 17.7% to 12,071, while its shows fell by 1.2% to 2,135. It’s worth noting that Prime Video still boasts the largest library among the subscription services, which will be tested when Amazon introduces ads next year.
Max, another second tier player looking to break out, upped its TV show catalog, but only saw modest growth in films over the last two years, with the number actually decreasing in 2023.
Industry leader Netflix, meanwhile, saw its film catalog rise just 5.6% to 3,970, second in size only to Prime Video. Its catalog of shows rose 20.6% to 2,495, second only to Hulu.