But one thing I find interesting with the latest chart (click on it to expand) is the fact that the number of scripted shows has gone down this year for all but the streaming services. They aren’t down by much, and it is the first time we have seen any sort of decline since 2012 (in that year scripted shows dropped by four for the pay channels). The reason that the overall number has gone up in 2016 is that the streaming services have more than doubled their scripted originals since last year.
So perhaps this indicates a slowdown in production from the broadcast nets and cable channels as well as a shift that goes along with the changing in viewing patterns. With all the one-season-and-done shows that have been getting thrown on the Peak TV trash-heap the last few years, it may be that the more traditional television networks have decided to put the brakes on development to an extent, or at least gear down from the full-speed-ahead mode we have been seeing. The streaming services on the other hand seem to have money burn and are cranking out shows at a record pace. And since they fit in with the current preference of view-on-demand and/or binge-watching, they are having better success with their shows (and to be fair, they also have a better focus on quality).
I said previously that I expected to start seeing signs of the bubble bursting or at least starting to deflate by the time 2017 rolled around (though the number of sci fi and fantasy shows continues to increase), and the latest tally may suggest that is happening for the non-streaming channels. There is an iron economic law that the numbers can’t go up for ever, and perhaps that is kicking in now with television production. This slight dip for the broadcast nets and cable channels is not a definite indicator, though, and we will have to see how things progress next year. But that bubble has to burst at some point, and these latest numbers could suggest that is beginning for the networks still heavily tied to the old model of television viewing.