Survey: Documentary Film Production Slows Dramatically in 2022; Could More Docs Head to Free Streaming Services?
Nonfiction films can be an incredibly powerful way to get information. Truth is often so subjective that humans tend to believe what their eyes tell them first, which is why documentaries are such an impactful genre of storytelling. Well-made documentaries and docuseries can show beauty and wonder, but can also hold dark and sometimes uncomfortable truths.
Sadly, there is less of this content being made, according to new data from Diesel Labs. Diesel’s numbers indicate that the growth rate in releases of documentary films and series slowed dramatically in 2022. The release volume of such content only grew by 10% last year, as compared to a rate of 126% in 2021. In fact, last year was the only year since 2017 in which the release volume of documentaries did not exceed the previous year’s rate by more than 35%.
While seemingly all streaming services are investing in docs these days, this downturn in production is especially unfortunate for documentary streamers like Curiosity Stream and MagellanTV, both of whom rely on frequent new releases to keep their content libraries fresh. Documentaries have always been something of a niche genre, but having stale catalogs of titles that most subscribers have already seen is not a good recipe for success at a time when streamers are doing whatever they can to further monetize their customer bases.
Diesel’s data also shows how content creators are trying to meet the demands of their audience. More than a quarter — 28.9% — of all documentaries and docuseries made in 2022 were in the true crime subgenre. Animals and nature were the second-most popular subject for nonfiction film releases last year, with 19.2% of titles falling into this category.
What do these numbers mean for the future of documentary streaming? They could portend that more documentaries will be sent to free, ad-supported streaming platforms in the future. Diesel’s survey shows that while documentaries made up 14.7% of all new titles in 2022, the genre accounted for just 3.5% of all audience engagement. Ad-supported streaming more efficiently monetizes its users because of the revenues that streamers collect from advertising agencies, so with engagement numbers that low, it would make sense for documentary producers to try to maximize their gains by utilizing ad-supported platforms to stream their content.
That’s especially true given the popularity of true crime documentaries. The free ad-supported TV (FAST) medium is perfect for true crime, as evidenced by how many free streaming channels are dedicated to that subject. The Roku Channel has added at least one true crime FAST channel since February, and Tubi brought one on in January. Sling Freestream added a true crime channel earlier this month, and judging by how popular these channels tend to be among users, a slowdown of their proliferation in the future is unlikely.
Documentaries are a beloved genre of film for a reason, and they won’t simply disappear from subscription video services just because there are fewer being made. But unless the rate of engagement with documentaries and docuseries increases dramatically, there’s a good chance more will be shifted to free streaming platforms so the studios that produce them have a better opportunity to make their money back.
Curiosity Stream
Curiosity Stream is a subscription streaming service that offers 1,800+ documentaries and series on science, space, technology, nature, history, health, and more. The service was created by the Discovery Channel founder, John Hendricks, in 2015.