The Number of Titles in the Netflix Library is Down 50% the Past Four Years

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The Netflix library has collapsed 50% in total title count since 2012

There’s no denying that the total number of titles available on Netflix is declining, but after some research, we were surprised by just how much it has decreased over the past few years.

We pulled September 2016 title counts from uNoGS in the US, showing that there are currently 5,302 titles available in the US Netflix library including movies and TV shows. What this means is that, over the past four years, the Netflix library has collapsed 50% in total title count since its peak four years ago.

While the exact number of titles available on Netflix in 2012 is unknown, sources who used to work for the streaming giant have told us it was close to 11,000 movies and TV shows. Over the years, this gradual decline has come from major content owners pulling the plug on giving Netflix distribution rights, as well as Netflix decreasing their total spend on third party content.

Instead of having to renegotiate streaming rights repeatedly for third party content, Netflix has opted to place a heavier focus on original movies and shows, a move that, while certainly appearing successful thus far, is still considered by many to be a massive gamble. Netflix has had tons of success with shows like ‘House of Cards,’ ‘Orange is the New Black,’ ‘Narcos’ and more, but the fact remains that creating original content is extremely expensive and doesn’t scale the same way content acquisition can. They also don’t and likely won’t ever stream live sports.

Last year, we reported that Netflix originals were out-performing their television network counterparts when it came to producing quality shows, losing only to HBO. So perhaps this decline in third party content isn’t quite as bad as the numbers make it sound. There’s probably an argument that while quantity has gone down, the quality has remained strong or perhaps even gotten better.

But we remember the outcry when ‘King of the Hill’ was removed from Netflix a few years ago, there were petitions and social media protests. People were demanding that Netflix do something to bring the show back to their service. This happens anytime a popular show gets removed, as we recently noticed with ‘Doctor Who’ disappearing. There’s just plenty of good content that we’d like to stream on Netflix, and it’s still out there for the taking. Just ask Hulu, who now owns the rights to stream ‘Seinfeld’ for the next five years.

Netflix has struggled with international expansion, where streaming rights are ridiculously complicated. We reported that there is a wide variance in total title count country to country, and Netflix is hoping to eliminate that confusion. If they own all the content on their library, they no longer have to deal with international streaming rights. However, with a limited selection (some countries being below 1000 total titles), acquiring customers in new regions has proven difficult.

Of all the entertainment companies out there, nobody prides themselves on the use of data quite like Netflix. Even compared to most cable providers, Netflix hosts way more data. They use every bit of information we pass to them as consumers of content to make purchasing decisions when it comes to new shows and movies. So while of course losing nearly half their library over the past few years sounds terrible, Netflix subscriber numbers haven’t quite collapsed in such a way to reflect an extremely pissed off customer base.

We might just be happier with the quality of the content that Netflix provides.

But of course, as competition crops up, including services that offer NFL live streams, the ability to watch NBA games online, and making it easier than ever to stream NHL games online, the desires of consumers might be shifting. More options for different streaming services is going to make it so we have plenty of choices when it comes to cutting the cord. Netflix isn’t the only game in town anymore.

What do you think? Is Netflix better off with their current original content or would you prefer they reverted to their original focus on third party content?