Netflix: Why Older Movies Can Support Growth

Executive summary

Business problem: a falling overall freshness measure could be mistaken for a weaker catalog. Decision: should content investment be judged by one freshness target? Key finding: TV became fresher while movies became older, and newer UK titles had more missing metadata. Recommended action: use separate content goals and enforce metadata quality before launch.

Business context

Netflix's US catalog appeared to be getting older. From 2015 to 2021, the share of brand-new content fell from 72% to 28%. If freshness is treated as the main goal, that looks like a warning sign.

But a catalog is not one product. New TV shows and older movies can serve different customer needs. I reviewed the data to understand whether the overall decline in freshness represented a real problem or a change in strategy.

Business question

Is Netflix becoming less attractive because its catalog is older, or is the company using new shows and older movies for different purposes?

How I approached it

I separated the catalog into TV shows and movies, then compared freshness by content category. I also reviewed repeat director partnerships and the completeness of content information in the UK catalog. This made it possible to look beyond one headline number and find the business decisions behind the trend.

Finding 1: TV shows became fresher while movies became older

The two content types moved in opposite directions:

• The share of new TV shows increased by 21%, from 40% to 61%.
• Movies became older overall, which increased the depth of the library.

Because the catalog contains many more movies than TV shows, the movie trend made the whole platform look less fresh. The combined number hid the fact that Netflix was investing in new shows while building a library of movies that could keep attracting viewers over time.

Chart takeaway: Netflix catalog, 2015–2021: TV shows became fresher while the movie library grew older

Why it matters: A single freshness target could encourage the wrong decision. Shows and movies need separate goals because they play different roles in the product.

Finding 2: The library strategy was focused

Older content did not grow equally across every category. The largest increases appeared in:

• International dramas: older titles rose from 6% to 47%.
• Family and kids movies: older titles rose from 16% to 48%.

This suggests a focused library-building strategy rather than a general decline in quality or investment. Netflix appears to be building depth where a strong collection can continue to serve viewers.

Chart takeaway: Netflix catalog, 2015–2021: Library growth was concentrated in international dramas and family movies

Finding 3: Documentary partnerships may be less efficient

Family content showed strong repeat partnerships with directors. Documentaries, however, were usually made with a new director each time.

The data does not prove that repeat partnerships would improve documentary performance. It does show a possible efficiency opportunity: every new partnership requires fresh negotiations, contracts, and relationship-building.

Finding 4: Missing information creates a customer experience risk

In the UK catalog, about 13% of titles added in the 2020s were missing important information, such as descriptions or tags. Older content had more complete information than newer content.

This points to a process problem in how new titles are added. Missing descriptions and tags make content harder to find and harder to evaluate, even when the underlying catalog strategy is sound.

Chart takeaway: Netflix UK titles added in the 2020s: Newer titles were more likely to have missing descriptions or tags

Recommendations

1. Use separate freshness goals. Track new TV shows and the depth of the movie library separately so one trend does not hide the other.
2. Check content information before launch. Require descriptions and tags to be complete before a new title goes live, especially in the UK catalog.
3. Test repeat partnerships in documentaries. Explore longer-term relationships where they could reduce negotiation effort without limiting creative choice.

Takeaway

The catalog was not simply getting worse. Netflix appeared to be keeping TV shows fresh while building a deeper movie library. The bigger risks were using one metric to judge both strategies and allowing new content to launch with incomplete information.

Code and data: View the analysis scripts