Disney owns more than double the licensable content of its competitors, according to new data published this week by Ampere Analysis, and this could be an increasingly important sales commodity in the year ahead. 

The British research firm curated a ranking of Hollywood studios by assessing the sellable TV programming in their streaming libraries as of December 2023—and the Mouse House is out in front with a whopping 148 shows that are exclusive to its Disney+ and Hulu streamers. Paramount is in second with 72 exclusive titles, followed by Warner Bros. Discovery (54) and NBCUniversal (47).

This means Disney should be well-positioned to benefit from a “licensing renaissance” that’s brewing in the market as studios with streamers begin to gradually open up to cross-licensing TV content—a big shift after several years of a more “walled-garden” approach. “Studios were understandably reluctant to give up exclusivity for major franchises as they built their streaming services,” Ampere’s report notes. But with ongoing challenges like commissioning cuts and the ripple effect of last year’s strikes, the walls are gradually coming down.

In its analysis, Ampere looked at shows from all scripted genres that have at least three seasons, that originated in the US and that still have a certain level of consumer engagement as per Ampere’s “Popularity Score” metric. Comedy was the most well-represented genre overall, but Ampere notes that kids and family content makes up almost one-third (32%) of the Disney shows that qualified, with titles like tween series Hannah Montana (pictured) ranking especially high in value. 

Ampere research manager Rahul Patel says this ’00s Disney Channel sitcom has maintained fairly consistent engagement over the last three years. According to Ampere’s popularity ranking, it was the 132nd most popular series available on Disney+ in the US as of December 2023, when the streamer carried 2,035 titles. 

Kids and family content also accounted for 30% of Paramount’s reserve of sellable shows, with NBCU (19%) and WBD (6%) having a little less to play with.

Ampere’s report noted that the number of TV seasons cross-licensed between Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max and Discovery+ platforms more than tripled in 2023, and third-party content licensing should continue to ramp up even more this year. Even strategies around exclusivity for core IPs seem to be changing, as evidenced by WBD licensing out a trove of DC superhero content to AVOD streamer Tubi in December. 

But selectivity will be the key to profitability, Patel explains. “Studios’ strategies will need to carefully balance exclusivity and non-exclusivity to ensure their streaming offerings are distinct and compelling, while also maximizing the value of their content as it moves to a second window.” 

“Licensing can expand the audience for existing assets, extend shelf life and, at the more successful end of the scale, inspire franchise expansion,” he adds. He advises that studios should seek buyers with the largest user base and the smallest audience overlap to amplify an IP’s exposure with new audiences.