In this article, we will discuss the 25 most profitable TV shows of all time. If you want to skip our detailed analysis of the global video streaming industry, you can directly go to the 5 Most Profitable TV Shows of All Time.
An Analysis of Global Video Streaming Industry
Global video streaming has changed the dynamics of the industry. OTT streaming platforms have more viewership than traditional TV channels. Netflix and Amazon Prime are two of the biggest examples in modern time. According to a report from Fortune Business Insights, the global video streaming market size is projected to grow from $554.33 billion in 2023 to $1.90 trillion by 2030, at a compound annual growth rate of 19.3%. During the COVID-19 pandemic, when everyone was in lockdown, streaming platforms gained massive viewership. Although streaming was growing swiftly pre-COVID, the pandemic accelerated viewership. The report shows that streaming traffic increased by 26% during 2020 around the world. Overall, the pandemic has had a positive impact on the video streaming industry. North America is expected to dominate the video streaming market share over the forecasted period, led by video streaming giants Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX), Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS), and Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD).
Digging into Old TV Shows
Since the invention of television, TV shows have evolved over time, and so have the trends and nature of the audience. Some of the most classic TV shows were once among the most anticipated TV shows. During the late 90s, the media industry was less competitive, but with the emergence of more media companies, the competition started to soar.
Going back to the 60s and 70s, there weren't many options for TV shows, compared to what we have today. A notable TV show of the time was M*A*S*H, which was produced by Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) in 1972, and made tons of money. M*A*S*H finale is among the most watched TV show episodes of all time, with over 105 million viewers tuning in at the time it was aired in 1983. M*A*S*H's sales are remarkable, considering that time period.
The Biggest Streaming Platform
Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) initially began with the idea to produce global shows. With time, trends have changed and the streaming platform has focused on improving local content.
Squid Games remains one of the most watched TV series on Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX). Viewers worldwide have spent around 1.65 billion hours watching Squid Games’ Season 1. Netflix’s (NASDAQ:NFLX) most recent shows have been local hits and that is the reason we are seeing more non-English shows getting popular among Netflix viewers. For example, Money Heist is a Spanish show that became a global hit. Narcos is another prime example for which the company paid $2.5 million per episode of Season 1, with an accumulated deal of $25 million for the season.
Rising inflation has had an impact on the global economy. Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) users used to share passwords and the company has started to crack down on password sharing. Despite this, Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) announced better than expected outcomes for Q1 2023. On April 18, the company reported strong earnings for the fiscal first quarter of 2023. The company posted earnings per share of $2.88, beating the EPS estimates of $2.86. The company's revenue soared to $8.16 billion, compared to $7.87 billion a year ago. Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) added 1.75 million subscribers during the first quarter of 2023. However, the company expects membership growth to drop in the upcoming quarters. During its Q1 2023 earnings call, the company made some comments on this:
"While this means that some of the expected membership growth and revenue benefit will fall in Q3 rather than Q2, we believe this will result in a better outcome from both our members and our business."
In addition, Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) is planning to refine its pricing strategy for different regions. The earnings call comments further add:
"We talked for the last few quarters about further refining our pricing strategy and monetization. And if you think back to when we did our global launch in 2016, it was pretty much across the board, a bit of a skim approach and not particularly sophisticated in terms of our pricing.
Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) expects to reach a content spend limit of $17 billion by 2024. It may depend on revenue generation as well.
"We expect to be back to about the $17 billion level in 2024 and the rate of growth depends on the rate of revenue growth for sure."
In comparison, The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) expects its content spend on company-wide projects to remain in the low $30 billion range. The company during Q1 2023 made comments on their expected budget:
"We still expect cash content spend company-wide to remain in the low $30 billion range for fiscal 2023. The longer-term content cost reductions referenced earlier in the call are not expected to impact this year's guidance range. We also continue to invest in our parks and experiences globally and in other capital ticks across the enterprise and expect that fiscal 2023 capital expenditures will total approximately $6 billion. This is lower than our prior guide of $6.7 billion primarily due to decreases in CapEx on our domestic parks, reflecting, in part, some timing shifts."
Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) remains one of the biggest streaming companies in the world. Other prominent streaming giants include Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) with Amazon Prime, The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) with Disney+, and HBO with HBO Max owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD). These streaming giants dominate the industry and will continue to produce the most profitable TV shows in the world.
To collect data for the 25 most profitable TV shows of all time, we consulted five sources including IMDb, Rolling Stone, IGN, Collider, and Movieweb. While searching for the most profitable TV shows of all time, it was not easy to determine the profitability and net revenue of TV shows from different periods. We tried to look for the TV shows with the most number of watch hours and assume their profitability based on watch hours. However, it was hard to track the watch hours of a particular show as it is difficult to compare shows across decades. So, we picked the top 5 shows from every index until we had our list of 25 most profitable TV shows. When we found repeated shows among the top 5, we picked the top sixth show and so on. Our hypothesis is, a show that appears higher on a list was more popular among consumers, and therefore, made more profit for the stakeholders involved. We ranked these TV series in ascending order of their number of appearances in the aforementioned sources.
25 Most Protifable TV Shows of All Time
25. Atlanta
2016-Present
Number of Mentions: 1
Atlanta is an American comedy-drama created by Donald Glover. The show has an IMDb rating of 8.6 and is ranked on our list of the most profitable TV shows of all time.
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24. Six Feet Under
2001-2005
Number of Mentions: 1
Six Feet Under is an American drama that premiered on HBO. The story revolves around a person who dies and his sons Nathaniel Samuel Jr and David take over their funeral business, but the brothers are caught in a conflict. The TV show has an IMDb rating of 8.7 and is ranked twenty-fourth on our list of the most profitable TV shows of all time.
23. The Larry Sanders Show
1992-1998
Number of Mentions: 1
Garry Shandling is one of the pioneers of producing top comedy series in 1986 with It’s Garry Shandling’s Show. He later followed with a more mature but still hilarious late-night show, The Larry Sanders Show. With an IMDb rating of 8.5, the sitcom is ranked among the most profitable TV shows of all time.
22. Law & Order
1990-Present
Number of Mentions: 1
It might be hard to believe that a show which began in the 1990s is still running. Law & Order has over 500 episodes and has been around for more than 30 years. The show, after a break between 2010 and 2021, made a return in 2022 for its 21st season. It has an IMDb rating of 7.8 and is ranked twenty-second on our list of the most profitable TV shows of all time.
21. Lost
2004-2010
Number of Mentions: 1
Even after a decade, Lost remains a popular TV show among viewers. The show is full of mysteries as the survivors of the plane crash have to spend their time together on an island. Lost has an IMDb rating of 8.3 and is one of the most profitable TV shows of all time.
20. The Leftovers
2014-2017
Number of Mentions: 1
The Leftovers is one of the most theological and philosophical TV shows ever made. It was an amazing idea of Damon Lindelof who also created Lost. The show has an IMDb rating of 8.3 and is ranked twentieth on our list of the most profitable TV shows of all time.
19. Cheers
1982-1993
Number of Mentions: 1
Cheers is an American sitcom that was aired in 1982. The sitcom remains one of the oldest and most watched TV shows of all time. Cheers has an IMDb rating of 8 and ranks among the most profitable TV shows of all time.
18. The Americans
2013-2018
Number of Mentions: 1
The Americans is a popular serial drama and is well-regarded among viewers, especially since its sixth and final seasons were a great hit. The show ended on a high note with an IMDb rating of 8.4 and is ranked among the most profitable TV shows of all time.
17. The West Wing
1999-2006
Number of Mentions: 1
The West Wing is one of the best idealistic dramas, with a bit of fantasy involved in it. The serial political drama has an IMDb rating of 8.9 and is one of the most profitable TV shows of all time.
16. I Love Lucy
1951-1957
Number of Mentions: 1
One of an all time greats, I Love Lucy, has fans after 66 years of its ending and is one of the most profitable TV shows of all time. I Love Lucy is an eternal show, with an IMDb rating of 8.5.
15. Seinfeld
1989-1998
Number of Mentions: 1
Seinfeld is an iconic American sitcom with its first season aired in 1989. The TV show continues to persist as one of the most watched TV shows of all time. It has an IMDb rating of 8.9 and is ranked among the most profitable TV shows of all time.
14. Star Trek
1966-1969
Number of Mentions: 1
Star Terk is one of the most influential sci-fi TV shows. Gene Roddenberry’s creation played a massive role in shaping of sci-fi shows. Star Terk has an IMDb rating of 8.4 and is ranked fourteenth on our list of the most profitable TV shows of all time.
13. Succession
2018-2023
Number of Mentions: 1
Succession is one of the hit shows of HBO with the series finale reaching 2.9 million views. Succession has an IMDb rating of 8.9 and is ranked among the most profitable TV shows of all time.
12. Twin Peaks
1990-1991
Number of Mentions: 1
Twin Peaks is a popular serial drama from the 1990s and is ranked twelfth on the list of the most profitable TV shows of all time. It has an IMDb ranking of 8.8.
11. Fleabag
2016-2019
Number of Mentions: 1
A show that can amuse you for seasons is worth watching and Fleabag is one of them. It is one of the most watched TV shows and ranks eleventh among the most profitable TV shows of all time. Fleabag has an IMDb rating of 8.7.
10. Chernobyl
2019
Number of Mentions: 1
Chernobyl is based on the tragedy of 1986 explosions in the nuclear power plant of the Soviet Union. The show remains one of the most watched and profitable TV shows of all time. It has an IMDb rating of 9.4.
9. Band of Brothers
2001
Number of Mentions: 1
Band of Brothers is a story of soldiers from the Easy Company of the U.S. Army 101 Airborne Divison, who fought together in World War II. The show has an IMDb rating of 9.4 and ranks among the most profitable TV shows of all time.
8. Planet Earth
2006
Number of Mentions: 1
The documentary series, Planet Earth covers the wildlife found in nature. The TV series remains one of the most profitable TV shows of all time with an IMDb rating of 9.4.
7. Planet Earth II
2016
Number of Mentions: 1
It is a squeal of Planet Earth as David Attenborough returns with another wildlife documentary. The series has an IMDb rating of 9.5 and is ranked among the most profitable TV shows of all time.
6. Mad Men
2007-2015
Number of Mentions: 1
Mad Men ran for seven seasons, making up to 100 episodes. The show has a wide audience and is ranked among the most profitable TV shows of all time. It has an IMDb rating of 8.7.
Some of the most popular OTT streaming companies in the world include Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX), Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS), and Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD).
