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Over the years, we’ve done some deep dives into Netflix’s library. Given Netflix’s recent strategy changes and industry changes, we wanted to see whether Netflix’s library is growing, shrinking, or staying the same. Here’s what we found with the help of NewonNetflix.info.
Before we dig in, there are a bunch of caveats in this article and problems with assessing libraries purely on several individual titles alone. First and foremost, not every title is equal. Is a 10-minute short comparable to a TV show with over 100 episodes? Almost certainly not. You also have quality, age, and whether people watch most titles to take into account. You’ve also got issues like certain Bollywood movies being counted as six titles as they’re added to Netflix (and other services) in several languages. The point I’m getting at here is that not all titles are equal, and judging a library by size can be misleading! Anyway, onwards!
Netflix US Library Has Grown Since 2022 After Years of Stagnation
The earliest library total we could find was in a Business Insider article stating that Netflix’s library in 2010 stood at 7,285 titles.
Our data begins in September 2014, when the library had 7,074 titles. Fast-forward to May 2024, and the library has a similar 7,108 titles. So the headline conclusion is that Netflix is in a similar position to where it was ten years ago, but that’s not the whole story.
In 2015, there was a huge drop in available titles on Netflix US, most of which were movies that left because of the ending of the Epix deal. Netflix’s Ted Sarandos (then Chief Content Officer) even posted a blog post stating that there would be a notable drop in high-profile movies.
Throughout the next decade, Netflix would be focused on building its Netflix Original lineup as more titles from licensing deals were pulled, many rivals opted to develop their streaming services instead of holding back licensed titles for themselves, and Netflix opted not to renew many of its contracts. That’s resulted in the bleeding of licensed titles over the years but in the past year or so, that number has stopped declining as much.
While Netflix Originals do leave the service, Netflix’s Original Library continues to grow, as most are on very long contracts or, in the case of many, will stay on Netflix indefinitely. The percentage of originals (seen in the graph below from September 2014 through May 2024) has been on an upward trajectory for years, with 55% of all titles in the library as of July 2023 being Netflix Originals. In December 2023, Netflix’s library surpassed 4,000 Originals in total.
Back in 2021, we put together a simple trajectory spreadsheet based on the fact that Netflix’s Original portion of Netflix’s library was growing by 0.88% every month. That continued trajectory would’ve seen the library at 68.88% as of May 2024, when, in reality, it’s currently at 57.68%. That change has resulted in a pretty interesting S-curve.
Why is this? Netflix is adding slightly fewer original titles, but the bigger influence is that Netflix is leaning more toward licensing in the US. We’ve talked about this before, but a few stars are coming into alignment for this to happen. Firstly, Netflix wants your time via engagement, and having a bigger library of licensed titles (especially shows with hundreds of episodes) helps with that. That becomes increasingly important as more emphasis is put on the ad tier. More watch time = more ads served = more money for Netflix!
Then you’ve got the economic realities for other streamers and legacy studios. They’ve gone all in on their streamers and, in most cases, are struggling to reach profitability with the added pressure of existing income streams on a downward trajectory. That means they’re looking for more cash, and one way to do that is to license titles.
How does Netflix’s US Library Compare to Streaming Rivals?
In terms of pure titles, how does Netflix’s library compare to its rivals? That’s a tricky question, given that some of the trackers aren’t entirely accurate. That said, there are a couple of sources we can use to compare.
According to Flixable, here’s how Netflix’s library stacks up against others: Disney+ in the US has 2,048 titles in total, and Hulu has 6,745 titles, meaning Disney has a combined total of 8,793, although there are increasingly lots of crossovers. Max is almost on par with Netflix, with 7,244 titles.
According to JustWatch, Apple TV+ has 274 titles, Prime Video has 14,654 titles, Paramount+ has 2,126 titles, Starz has 1,672 titles, AMC+ has 1,602 titles, and Peacock has 4,961 titles.
We should note that JustWatch suggests there are different title counts for AMC+ depending on whether you’re on Apple TV+ or Amazon Prime Channels. In those instances, we’ve taken the higher number. They also state that Netflix has 6,779 titles, significantly lower than the actual amount. Either way, it’s a good ballpark comparison.
What about Netflix UK’s library?
Let’s move over to Netflix UK as the story in the numbers looks very different compared to the US. There since September 2014, the UK library has been on a continuous upward trajectory
Looking at licensed titles vs Netflix Original titles, the story is very different to the United States. The Originals line looks very similar to the US (they’re primarily similar titles, but there are regional differences regarding Netflix Originals), but the licensed title graph is very different. Throughout 2017, the number of licensed titles on Netflix UK exploded, but since 2018, that number has remained consistent with the library growth (seen above) coming entirely from the Netflix Original titles.
The full underlying data sheet for both the Netflix UK and US data can be found in Google Sheets here.
