THE US ENTERTAINMENT PARADOX
Sustaining these giant content material libraries explains the shift of the US commerce steadiness. US-based streamers export much less as a result of they now retain extra of their content material for unique distribution on their very own streaming platforms. And so they import extra as a result of they purchase overseas content material in better portions than ever earlier than.
For instance, Stranger Issues is produced by Netflix within the US. As such, it doesn’t present up in export figures. Squid Sport, alternatively, is a Korean export and reveals up in US import knowledge.
Furthermore, Walt Disney has determined to retain the unique rights to its franchises, forgoing licensing gross sales. In 2020, the corporate licensed 59 per cent of its scripted collection to 3rd events, 18 per cent in 2021, and solely 2 per cent in 2022.
All of the US streaming giants license and fee overseas content material. Netflix specifically has spent extra on worldwide content material than US programming since 2024 (US$7.9 billion versus US$7.5 billion). Therefore the creation of a paradox: US commerce knowledge in audiovisual providers reveals a commerce deficit, but the US-based leisure trade has by no means been so dominant globally.
There are related patterns in industries by which US-based multinationals are situated on the apex of transnational provide chains. The denims that Levi Strauss imports from Bangladesh, the trainers that Nike imports from Vietnam, and the automobile elements Ford imports from Brazil all present up in US commerce statistics. However these items are, primarily, American-owned property.
About 70 per cent of commerce includes world worth chains (GVC), as uncooked supplies and elements cross borders a number of occasions earlier than being assembled right into a closing product.
In right this moment’s world economic system, the complexity of most merchandise requires corporations to cooperate alongside transnational manufacturing networks. As companies and nations specialize in particular duties, GVCs are probably the most environment friendly means of manufacturing items and providers. The streaming trade merely mirrors these wider patterns.
