Netflix has been praised for its original content–and spends billions a year on making it. However, despite this, a new study from 7Park Data has found that in the U.S. 80% of the content viewed on Netflix is licensed and only 20% of the content viewed on the service is the company’s own original content (via Variety).
Licensed content is anything Netflix doesn’t make but has permission to show, such as shows like How I Met Your Mother or movies like The Avengers. Its original content includes shows Netflix pays to produce or has acquired before other studios snap them up. This includes critical and commercial hits like House of Cards and Stranger Things. Other findings in 7Park Data’s study reveals:
- 42% of Netflix subscribers watch mostly licensed content.
- Of those subscribers, 95% or more of their total streaming is licensed content.
- Only 18% of Netflix’s U.S. streaming customers are “originals dominant,” meaning 40% to 100% of everything they watch is Netflix’s original programming.