Report: Western, Sports Series See Big Gains Among Fans; Which Streamers Are Helping to Set Trends?
If you’ve found yourself enraptured by the feel-good earnestness of “Ted Lasso” or the high-flying acrobatics of “Cobra Kai” in the last few years, you’re far from the only one. That’s according to a new survey from consumer viewership data and engagement insight company Whip Media, who dug into which TV genres have gained the most fans in recent years.
The Whip survey was reported by Advanced Television and shows that sports-themed shows — including “Ted Lasso” on Apple TV+, “Cobra Kai” on Netflix, and the docu-series “Welcome to Wrexham” on Hulu — saw an 80% increase in fans since 2019. That’s good news for essentially every service, as each has a popular sports series in its catalog.
Whip’s survey also showed that Western titles have seen a 56% jump in fandom since 2019. That’s especially glad tidings for Paramount+ and Peacock. “Yellowstone” has been a major driver of Western content over the years, and while its past seasons stream on Peacock, its spin-off shows “1923” and “1883” live on Paramount+. Other streamers have begun to catch on, as Prime Video recently released its first seasons of “Outer Range” and “The English.”
Surprisingly, shows in the “Suspense” genre have seen the biggest drop off in fans in the last three years. That may simply be due to market saturation, as every major streaming service currently offers multiple suspense series as a cornerstone of its programming. This fan drop-off hasn’t seemed to affect Netflix negatively, as its series “Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” and “Wednesday” have both broken viewership records for the service this year.
Another genre that saw a big dip in fans was children’s content. That would be especially bad news for Disney+ if the service was geared exclusively toward such shows. Disney+ does offer a wide array of kid’s programming, but it has integrated Marvel and Star Wars content into its brand so well that users see it as far more than just a service for content for young ages. This could also explain why Warner Bros. Discovery has seemingly completely abandoned efforts to become a hub for kids-specific programming.
One genre that streaming services should look to add more of is game shows. These type of shows saw a 35% increase in fans since 2019, but few streaming services offer original game show titles in their libraries. Game shows feature relatively low production costs, with fewer performers to hire and no bloated special effects budgets, and they’re a great way to lure in more subscribers if executed correctly.