Washington, D.C. (July 16, 2012) -- A new Nielsen study shows that Netflix streaming customers are watching more TV shows instead of movies on the online video service, writes Multichannel News.

The study found that 19 percent of Netflix streaming customers opt to use Netflix for TV shows, an increase from 11 percent in 2011. Subscribers who primarily watch streaming movies fell from 53 percent in 2011 to 47 percent in 2012.

"Increasing original content could help to drive Netflix users to stream even more TV-like content in the future," Nielsen said, according to Multichannel News.



Analysis:
Nielsen is both right and wrong here. Netflix subs are watching more TV shows and it's not hard to figure out why. Netflix's movie library has been shrinking, particularly with new releases. The company has had difficulty striking deals with the studios to offer new releases at the same time (or even a few months after) they launch on Blu-ray and/or cable/satellite Video on Demand.  Consequently, Netflix customers are increasingly gravitating toward streaming TV shows.

Where Nielsen is wrong is its statement that increasing original content will drive Netflix users to watch even more TV-like content. No, Netflix's inability to get the studios to allow them to show new movie releases will drive Netflix users to watch even more TV-like content. The original content will have minimal impact unless Netflix magically produces a hit or two. And thus far, Netflix's programming team is falling short of that objective. (See Lilyhammer; or, rather, don't.)