Emergence of OTT Video and the Production Expenditures of Established Audiovisual Producers

This paper examines the audiovisual programming and production expenditures of leading US media distributors, in the context of the market entry of Over-The-Top content distributors such as Netflix. Using data from the annual SEC filings of publicly traded audiovisual production companies over 2008–2017, it seeks to provide insights into how production expenditures figure as part of a competitive strategy in the context of new media growth. The results suggest that, despite media accounts to the contrary, established audiovisual producers have not materially altered their investment strategies in response to OTT video distribution.