Global Streaming Content Spend Expected to Rise in 2024; Will Amazon and Apple Save Movie Theaters?

Getting Hollywood rolling again is a process that’s simply going to take some time. Not that long after the pandemic-related shutdowns ended, Tinseltown was essentially completely closed again for a big portion of 2023 because of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, and audiences are beginning to feel the effects, thanks to a dearth of new scripted titles on broadcast TV and streaming. However, new data released by Ampere Analysis offers a ray of hope that 2024 will see a significant rebound in terms of global productions.

• Ampere predicts that content spending will grow 2% year-over-year, reaching $247 billion in 2024.
• Global streaming services will increase their content spends by 7% this year.
• Increased theatrical release slates from Amazon and Apple could be hugely important to movie theaters.

How Much More Will Studios Spend in 2024?

The data from Ampere shows that the analysis firm expects moderate growth in content spending around the world this year. Emerging from the two major Hollywood strikes will help; the renewal of production of scripted shows from both linear TV and streaming sources will contribute to content spending increasing from $243 billion in 2023 to $247 billion in 2024.

Global streaming services will outpace that growth, increasing their content spend by 7% in the coming months to $46 billion. Overall, streaming titles account for 28% of the global video content spend, up from 27% last year; theatrical studios and pay-TV sources are expected to reduce the amount they spend according to Ampere’s forecasts.

So what does this mean for services like Netflix, Hulu, Peacock, and others? It means that these services are likely to release similar numbers of titles to what they released in 2022. Ampere’s data shows that these services will spend more this year than they did in 2022, but studios are still trying to get their production schedules back on track, so audiences shouldn’t expect full seasons of new streaming titles right away. In fact, Netflix is refocusing on a quality-over-quantity approach that could result in fewer titles being released, and more time and money spent perfecting what does hit the platform.

How Much Will Expanded Theatrical Slates from Amazon and Apple Help Theaters?

As mentioned, Ampere’s analytics-based predictions for the coming year foresee a fall in theatrical studio spending. Studios in the United States are expected to spend 14% less on theatrical releases this year, which is another blow to theater chains that have still not fully recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fortunately, two companies that thus far have mostly made their bones in video streaming may be coming to the rescue. In November 2022, Amazon made a commitment to spend $1 billion per year to bring 12 to 15 new movies to theaters instead of releasing them directly to Prime Video. “The Boys in the Boat” is the latest example of Amazon following through on this promise, and it will continue to release a wide range of movies theatrically in 2024.

Apple made clear its commitment to theatrical releases last spring when it too pledged to spend $1 billion or more every year on movies specifically intended for theatrical releases. Audiences were treated to a double dose of Apple quality in theaters over the 2023 holidays, as Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” and Ridley Scott’s “Napoleon” both bowed in theaters before making their way to Apple TV+.

Both of these companies will score the double benefit of being able to steer viewers to their streaming platforms to watch movies once they leave theaters, as well as collecting revenue from ticket sales. With legacy media companies like Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery largely struggling with their own theatrical releases, theater chains will welcome the increase in content from Apple and Amazon with open arms.

“2023 was a worse than expected year for content spend due almost entirely to the Hollywood strikes,” Ampere principal analyst Hannah Walsh said. “The good news is we can look forward to a small recovery of 2% as production resumes and the US election approaches. Global streaming services are forecast to increase total content investment by 7% in 2024 and thus remain key for content spend growth. However, it’s not all rosy as many studios look to cut back on theatrical releases, and broadcasters cut spending due to ongoing declines in TV advertising.”