18.11.2022

Every Service The Handmaid's Tale Has Gone to and Where it Will Go Next

Every Service The Handmaid's Tale Has Gone to and Where it Will Go Next

Author

Tracy Leung

role

Analyst

The Handmaid’s Tale captured audiences worldwide since it first premiered and became one of the top shows on Hulu. After five seasons, Hulu has decided to end the Emmy-award Winning show with its final sixth season. Throughout the show’s run, Show Tracker has gathered key data on how Handmaid’s Tale has been sold around the world.

The first season of The Handmaid’s Tale was released simultaneously in the US (on Hulu) and in Spain and Sweden (on HBO Max) with new episodes airing every week. Due to its tremendous success, other markets quickly launched The Handmaid’s Tale with streaming services and broadcasters swiftly acquiring rights to the show. There were initially 9 buyers who bought the show’s first window rights with different distribution methods. 50% of the show’s sales were distributed through SVOD services, 30% were distributed through Pay TV broadcasts and only two markets were acquired by Free-TV services. However, prior to the show's fifth season, Amazon acquired MGM which showed a significant change in the show’s distribution rights in UK.

Amazon Prime has been overtaking local streaming and broadcast services in half of the tracked markets to become the leading place to stream The Handmaid’s Tale in the second window starting from the show’s second/third season. Local services have maintained their position in only three markets as a second window to view Handmaid’s Tale in their respective markets. This year, following Amazon’s acquisition of MGM in 2021, Amazon has now secured itself as a first window in the UK as the streaming service co-premiered the show’s fifth season alongside Channel 4 with both parties in mutual agreement on launch plans. Because of Amazon acquiring MGM, future MGM TV shows may be distributed through vertical integration rather than selling to third-party buyers.

Show Tracker

Show Tracker is an essential tool for the TV industry, which monitors where TV shows are being sold around the world and the rights attached to each deal. Tracking over 1,400 TV shows and 350 different services in 19 markets, it provides a unified view of the distribution market.

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Movie Tracker

Movie Tracker is our powerful TV industry service that provides you with a comprehensive overview of the movie distribution market, enabling you to track a movie’s full journey in a market from its theatrical release through home entertainment, Pay TV,  SVOD and free TV windows.

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Fast Tracker

Start understanding the FAST ecosystem. FAST Tracker is an essential tool for the TV industry, which monitors over 2700+ channels and 20 platforms across 19 parameters and 11 global markets. With key data on where channels are being distributed and acquired, FAST Tracker enables you to identify opportunities and analyse competitors so that you can make informed business decisions that get you ahead of the game.

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