Netflix 3D Rendering Close up. – Picture via AdobeStock
The Netflix library in the United States has just hit another milestone, with 55% of the total library made up of Netflix Original movies and series from around the world.
How many titles are on Netflix? As of July 2023, there are 6,621 movies, series, and specials (this number does not include the 60+ games). Of those, 3,657 are Netflix Original titles. That library has been built in the space of 10 years, as Netflix celebrated just recently.
Netflix seems to be hitting new milestones each summer at its current pace in the US. In August 2022, we reported that the Netflix Original Library had hit a 50/50 parity; the year before that (August 2021), it hit 40%.
Of course, it is only now touching 55% a year after that 50/50 parity suggests that the percentage rise is slowing, and there are multiple factors to that which will continue in the year and possibly years to come.
Kaleidoscope – Picture: Netflix
Firstly, as you may be aware, various strikes are causing US-productions, in particular, to cease (at the time of publishing, SAG-AFTRA were set to begin striking), meaning we’re expecting fewer shows and movies in the months and years to come.
Secondly, and perhaps this is due to the first item: Netflix has been licensing more titles than normal. Whether that’s down to new window deals with the likes of Sony Pictures or Universal or it picking up shows from HBO, Warner Bros. Discovery, or others, we’ve seen an uptick in licensing.
Whether this is a major reversal in strategy is up to you. One could argue that it’s a reversal on the side of Netflix and the various distributors who, in recent years, have prioritized removing content from Netflix in favor of their own services.
Another thing we should mention is that we’ve also been seeing an uptick in Netflix Originals departing the service over the past couple of years.
What percentage of other Netflix libraries are made up of Originals?
Thanks to the NewonNetflix.info sites, we can also see what percentage of the UK, Australian and Canadian libraries are made up of Originals:
- In the United Kingdom (which has gone on a licensing spree in the last few years), the library only consists of 45% Original titles.
- In Canada and Australia, the percentage is just over 50% on its library of around 7,000 titles each.
As for if and when we ever get to the stage where 100% of the Netflix library is made up of Originals is a long way off, the trajectory spreadsheet we set up a few years back suggested that it’d be around mid-2027 when we’d hit 100%, although, in reality, it’s likely that won’t happen.
