When it comes to current TV-viewing trends, viewers worldwide prefer scripted content to unscripted content, according to a new study from BB Media. But which part of the globe prefers one over the other? That’s evolving.
The number of scripted TV shows was more than double that of unscripted in 2024, with 430,000 total titles available vs. 172,000 unscripted titles, according to BB Media.
Within the unscripted universe, documentaries clearly dominate, representing 50% of the unscripted distributed titles globally. However, their share has gradually declined, dropping 13% since 2021.
Drama leads the scripted content with 28% of respondents preferring that genre, followed by comedy at 12%. However, in 2024, the three most popular series belonged to the action and science fiction genres: “Game of Thrones” and “The House of Dragon” (HBO/Max) and “The Boys” (Prime Video).
The most popular unscripted programs globally were: WWE “Monday Night Raw,” “American Nightmare” and “Are You Sure?”
In terms of title regional availability, Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) leads with the largest volume of unscripted content, while the U.S., Canada and Australia/New Zealand (UCAN) stands out for its wide availability of scripted content. In terms of preferences, Asia Pacific (APAC) emerges as the region with the greatest affinity for unscripted content, reflecting a growing interest in authentic and dynamic formats. LATAM follows as the second region with the strongest preference.
During 2024, APAC was the region that launched the most unscripted titles, exceeding 5K releases and accounting for almost half of all the unscripted titles released that year. According to BB Media analysis, South Africa ranks highest in preference for unscripted content, while Sweden leads in preference for scripted content.
Both genres have been on opposing trendlines in recent years. The supply of unscripted content steadily increased from 2019 to 2022 (+9% annually) but saw declines in 2023 (-3%) and 2024 (-12%), indicating a slowdown in production, BB Media said.
Meanwhile, scripted content has shown significant growth, rebounding strongly after a dip in 2020, with record-breaking growth of 17% in 2024.
