• by Wayne Friedman , February 1, 2021

Total premium-scripted original TV shows on broadcast, cable and streaming platforms declined in 7% to 493 in 2020, says FX Networks -- the first time ever in the 11 years the cable TV network group has been counting these TV series.

It was 532 in 2019; 495, in 2017; and 487 in 2017, according to the Disney-owned company. The first year FX Networks started counting originally scripted TV, in 2009, there were 210 shows.

Much of the recent decline was due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused massive TV production delays. TV shows were rescheduled to start their seasons in November, while others were delayed until January, February, or later.

The rise in recent years came from the explosive growth of premium streaming services, which expanded starting in November 2019, with the debut of Apple TV+ and Disney+. In 2020, WarnerMedia’s HBO Max and NBCUniversal’s Peacock also launched.

All this occurred in 2020, while the total time of people watching TV, in key months during the pandemic, witnessed rising viewership.

In addition, Nielsen says video streaming increased as a percentage of all TV usage, rising to 25% in second-quarter 2020 from 19% in fourth-quarter 2019, among viewers 2+.

For years, John Landgraf, CEO of FX Networks, called the phenomena “peak TV.” He derided the hike, warning that the glut of shows made them increasingly financially unsustainable. Landgraf contended that there wasn't enough viewership for these pricey productions, or TV marketing support.