Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

Why is Netflix’s U.S. catalog shrinking?

By Stephanie Topacio Long Published March 28, 2016

netflix binge scale why streaming apps can t challenge — Image used with permission by copyright holder

For all that we hear about new developments at Netflix, size — at least not terms of its catalog — is rarely a topic of conversation. The streaming service has been rapidly growing by other measures, namely the number of countries it’s in, its massive subscriber base, and expanding library of original series and films. A new analysis by AllFlicks, however, has examined Netflix’s U.S. catalog and concluded that the streamer has shed 31.7 percent of its titles in under two and a half years.

All in all, AllFlicks finds that the service has gone from 8,103 titles (6,494 film and 1,609 TV shows) in January 2014 to 5,532 titles (4,335 movies and 1,197 TV shows) as of March 23, 2016. Yet while it’s a sharp drop, the streamer’s shrinking catalog clearly hasn’t had a negative impact on subscriptions overall. At the end of 2015, Netflix was poised to soon cross the 75 million-member mark and within weeks, the company could say that its service had launched in virtually every major market aside from China.

Recommended Videos

Related Offer: Thousands of Movies and TV shows with Amazon Video. Start your free trial now.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

A smaller streaming selection is clearly not necessarily a death knell. In fact, Netflix seems to have found a new recipe for success that even HBO wants to emulate. By coupling international expansion with increased focus on (and funds for) original content, Netflix aims to make its investments more efficient. The streamer can create content for its global audience rather than having to wrap itself up in numerous geographic location-specific deals.

Another priority for Netflix has been content quality over quantity. The company has nabbed several high-profile projects, plus garnered critical acclaim with multiple projects over the two past years. Like HBO, the streamer is aiming to hook subscribers and make its service feel like a necessity.

As much as originals appear to be paying off for Netflix, we don’t expect the catalog to be pared down Netflix-only content anytime soon; originals will continue to increase, while the number of licensed titles will continue to decrease. It will be a give-and-take, and though we’ll undoubtedly miss some of the content we lose, we’ll be able to console ourselves with the likes of House of Cards, Daredevil, Orange is the New Black, and much, much more.

Topics

Stephanie Topacio Long

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Stephanie Topacio Long is a writer and editor whose writing interests range from business to books. She also contributes to…

Emerging Tech

Yamaha offers sales of 60% on e-bikes as it pulls out of U.S. market

Yamaha Pedal Assist ebikes

If you were looking for clues that the post-pandemic e-bike market reshuffle remains in full swing in the U.S., look no further than the latest move by Yamaha.

In a letter to its dealers, the giant Japanese conglomerate announced it will pull out of the e-bike business in the U.S. by the end of the year, according to Electrek.

Entertainment

5 years ago, the best true crime show of the 2010s went completely unnoticed on Netflix

Kaitlyn Dever stands in a cramped elevator in Unbelievable.

True crime is one of the most popular forms of storytelling there is right now. It's also one of the most difficult to get right. After all, when a TV show or a movie is recreating and using real crimes to tell a story, how does it do so without exploiting the real-life victims involved or disregarding them in favor of focusing more on their attackers? A delicate balance between sensitivity and compelling drama must be found. Sometimes it is. Sometimes it isn't.

No TV show in recent memory walks that difficult tightrope better than Unbelievable. The acclaimed Netflix miniseries premiered five years ago this week after receiving very little promotion from its streaming platform. As a result, Unbelievable flew almost completely under the radar in the weeks following its release. That was frustrating to witness in 2019, and it's still just as disappointing five years later.

Cars

The UK’s Wayve brings its AI automated driving software to U.S. shores

wayve ai automated driving us driver assist2 1920x1152 1

It might seem that the autonomous driving trend is moving at full speed and on its own accord, especially if you live in California.Wayve, a UK startup that has received over $1 billion in funding, is now joining the crowded party by launching on-road testing of its AI learning system on the streets of San Francisco and the Bay Area.The announcement comes just weeks after Tesla unveiled its Robotaxi at the Warner Bros Studios in Burbank, California. It was also in San Francisco that an accident last year forced General Motors’ robotaxi service Cruise to stop its operations. And it’s mostly in California that Waymo, the only functioning robotaxi service in the U.S., first deployed its fleet of self-driving cars. As part of its move, Wayve opened a new office in Silicon Valley to support its U.S. expansion and AI development. Similarly to Tesla’s Full-Self Driving (FSD) software, the company says it’s using AI to provide automakers with a full range of driver assistance and automation features.“We are now testing our AI software in real-world environments across two continents,” said Alex Kendall, Wayve co-founder and CEO.The company has already conducted tests on UK roads since 2018. It received a huge boost earlier this year when it raised over $1 billion in a move led by Softbank and joined by Microsoft and Nvidia. In August, Uber also said it would invest to help the development of Wayve’s technology.Just like Tesla’s FSD, Wayve’s software provides an advanced driver assistance system that still requires driver supervision.Before driverless vehicles can legally hit the road, they must first pass strict safety tests.So far, Waymo’s technology, which relies on pre-mapped roads, sensors, cameras, radar, and lidar (a laser-light radar), is the only of its kind to have received the nod from U.S. regulators.