The effect of tightening budgets in the industry is perhaps most evident in the number of new scripted commissions in recent years. A peak of new TV series in 2022 was followed by a sharp decline, further fuelled by the disruption caused by the joint SAG-AFTRA and Writers Guild strikes. While overall commissions continued to fall in 2024, Show Tracker revealed that Limited Series commissions saw some reasonable recovery that year.
Limited Series also peaked in 2022, thanks to heavy investment from studio-owned SVODs, which accounted for 60% of commissions that year. While Studio SVOD investment has not maintained those high 2022 levels, a rise in activity from Apple TV+, alongside stable numbers from Netflix, has helped keep the overall number of new commissions relatively healthy. Studio SVODs are not out of the game entirely, with Disney+ releasing two titles so far this year, capitalising on its Marvel IP with ‘Marvel Zombies’ and ‘Eyes of Wakanda’.
With so much of the activity stemming from SVOD services, the opportunity for local buyers to acquire these titles in the first window has long been slim.
The majority of titles in recent years have either been made for global release on platforms like Netflix or Amazon, or come from studios with wide opportunities for vertical integration. As a result, there are only so many series available for third-party acquisition. However, only a few of these have resulted in third-party sales, demonstrating the challenge in convincing buyers to pay premium drama prices for titles that do not offer the long tail of multiple subsequent seasons.
The most notable third-party sales from 2024 include Warner’s titles ‘The Regime’ and ‘The Sympathizer’, sold through existing HBO volume deals. NBCU, meanwhile, found success with two Peacock Limited Series, ‘Apples Never Fall’ and ‘Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist’. In Canada, Corus acquired both as one of the few recipients of a volume deal from NBCU for Peacock titles. Elsewhere, the titles found homes with a variety of buyers, with ‘Fight Night’ landing on Disney+ in Latin America. In addition to these sales, both Warner and NBCU took advantage of vertical integration in markets where they have a service presence, ensuring local distribution for all of their titles.
As the market recalibrates post-strike and post-peak commissioning, Limited Series may prove to be a more sustainable format for both commissioners and buyers. Their contained scope and shorter production timelines make them less risky investments in an era of uncertainty. However, with continued dominance from global SVODs and vertically integrated studios, the window for third-party acquisitions remains narrow - especially for international buyers seeking exclusive, high-end scripted content. In this environment, only the most strategically positioned distributors will be able to convert limited series into meaningful sales opportunities.
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