This article examines Netflix’s recycling content strategies in the era of streaming cinema. It starts from the assumption that because of the different institutional logic at work in the land of SVODs, the affordances that recycled content brings may not be as effective (and necessary) as it has been in Hollywood. Using a database-centered approach, we analyze 658 Netflix Original films. Between 2015 and 2022, Netflix released 440 non-recycled Originals, showcasing a commitment to offering a high quantity of niche films. The dataset equally shows that the percentage of recycled films (33%) follow a linear upward pattern, highlighting the persistence of conservative content strategies. More specifically, (re-)adaptations constituted the biggest chunk of recycled content (68%), as these allow the streamer to quickly fill its catalog with recyclable IP. Netflix’s inclination toward sequels (16%), spin-offs (6%), and prequels (2%) aligns with its sequelization strategy, while also leveraging its own IP. Remakes (8%) play a less significant role, likely due to the relatively young age of Netflix’s content library. The article concludes that Netflix may, in fact, be less of a disruptive force to the film industry in terms of the diversity of its content creation, prompting further recycling of existing properties.

中文翻译：

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Netflix 原创电影有多“原创”？绘制和理解流媒体电影时代内容的回收

本文探讨了 Netflix 在流媒体电影时代的回收内容策略。它始于这样一个假设：由于 SVOD 领域的制度逻辑不同，回收内容带来的可供性可能不像好莱坞那么有效（和必要）。我们使用以数据库为中心的方法分析了 658 部 Netflix 原创电影。2015 年至 2022 年间，Netflix 发行了 440 部非回收原创影片，展现了提供大量小众电影的承诺。数据集同样显示，回收薄膜的百分比 (33%) 呈线性上升模式，凸显了保守内容策略的持续存在。更具体地说，（重新）改编构成了回收内容的最大部分（68％），因​​为这些内容允许流媒体快速用可回收的 IP 填充其目录。Netflix 对续集（16%）、衍生剧（6%）和前传（2%）的倾向与其续集战略一致，同时也利用了自己的 IP。重拍 (8%) 的作用不太重要，这可能是由于 Netflix 的内容库相对年轻。文章的结论是，事实上，就内容创作的多样性而言，Netflix 对电影行业的颠覆性力量可能较小，从而促使现有资产进一步回收利用。