New episodes of streaming originals are few and far between these days. The release pace of new streaming shows has slowed considerably in the first half of 2024, partially thanks to the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, and partially because studios are shrinking content budgets to help make their streaming services more profitable. Streamers who are closely entwined with broadcast and cable TV channels are mitigating this lack with new episodes of shows that appear first on those channels, and new data from Parrot Analytics is showing which services are getting the most traction with new episodes so far in 2024.

Key Details

• Peacock has seen more than 36% of its total demand in 2024 generated by new TV episodes.
• Disney+ and Netflix have the lowest share of demand created by new episodes so far this year.
• One-third of the top 100 TV series in the United States haven’t released an episode since 2022, proving the need for a robust selection of library shows.

When it comes to new TV episodes, Parrot’s data shows that Peacock and Paramount+ are ruling the roost. Parrot took a look at when the last episode of a TV show on popular streaming services aired, then summed up and expressed demand for those shows as a share of each platform’s total TV catalog demand in the first half of 2024.

Despite having catalogs that are comprised of just 13% new shows, Peacock and Paramount+ each saw new TV episodes make up 29.6% or more of demand on their services so far this year. The reason for this is their close relationship with broadcast and cable networks; NBC and Bravo each send next-day streams of popular shows to Peacock, while CBS does likewise with Paramount+. That means each has access to new episodes at a more regular clip than streamers like Netflix which do not offer episodes pulled fresh from a TV channel.

Somewhat surprisingly, another streamer with close ties to broadcast channels is closer to the middle of the pack in terms of demand for its new episodes. Hulu gets next-day streams of primetime shows from both ABC and Fox, but only 26.7% of demand for its library has been generated by new episodes so far in 2024. That number could climb higher thanks to the third season of “The Bear,” which was released on June 27.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Disney+ and Netflix are the two services with the lowest percentage of demand driven by new episodes. This suggests that viewers are watching legacy series like “Breaking Bad,” “Star Wars: Rebels” or other older titles on the two platforms more often than they’re streaming brand-new shows, at least thus far in 2024.

Is New Episode Viewership Better for Streamers?

Attracting audiences to new episodes is critically important for streaming services, especially as a differentiator. One 2023 survey found that many viewers use the shows and movies on a streaming platform to tell it apart from other services, so having highly recognizable new episodes available frequently is of clear value.

Having new episodes available isn’t everything for a streaming service, however. Carrying large libraries of TV shows and movies that viewers think of as comfort viewing is key, as this type of watching doesn’t force the viewer to lean in and pay attention as frequently. Customers seek out these shows with enthusiasm; FX CEO John Landgraf once estimated that as much as 80% of all TV viewing was lean-back, comfort watching, so having catalogs stuffed with such content as Disney+ and Netflix do is a great way for services to keep viewers engaged.

Parrot’s own data shows that one-third of the top 100 U.S. TV shows haven’t released an episode since 2022, further illustrating the importance of lean-back TV series in streaming libraries. When a service or network creates a hit, it can have benefits for years to come, and streaming services are uniquely positioned to take advantage of that style of viewing thanks to their on-demand formats.

Paramount+ and Peacock have these types of shows in their libraries, but they haven’t found a way to steer viewers to them as effectively as Netflix and Disney+ have with their library content. That could be a big reason that Netflix and Disney’s streaming services are closer to becoming profitable than Peacock or Paramount+ at the moment, even though the latter two services are seeing viewers flock to them to watch new TV episodes in the first half of 2024.