Does Netflix Really Produce the Best Original Shows?

With successes like House of Cards, Orange is the New Black and Aziz Ansari’s latest Master of None, it probably comes as no surprise that Netflix is planning to spend $5 billion on content next year.

Now, that number isn’t just for original content. It also includes movie and traditional licensing costs. But if you look at 2013, when Netflix spent $2 billion on content, there was still plenty of original content released.

Expect more in the coming year.

BGR reported on Netflix’s big spend earlier this month. And while the high dollar amount is newsworthy enough, there was a line at the end of the report that caught our attention:

“Netflix may have a few duds in the rotation, but by and large, they have a higher batting average when it comes to delivering well-received shows than any other content producer on the planet.”

What does that exactly mean? Are all Netflix originals, on average, better than HBO, Showtime, FX, or Amazon Prime originals? Is there even a metric for that?

Does Netflix really have a better batting average?

Earlier this year, FX President John Landgraf took exception to this notion. In a radio interview, he said, “Netflix has made 14 shows. Take any 14 shows we’ve made; they’re better. Any 14 shows, on average, our shows are better.”

So, we decided it was time to find out the truth. Is Netflix producing the best original shows on average? Or are they getting bested by other content producers?

Our Methodology

Of course, to determine something so subjective, you need some kind of constant to measure a show’s success. Even if there were hard numbers out there showing how many times a show has been streamed or viewed, it still wouldn’t speak to a particular show being “well-received.”

But there are some loyal critic sites that have a solid following. Ratings from those sites might be the fairest way to go.

We averaged the rating of all original shows from nine pay TV channels and services. We used ratings from Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes. Metacritic tends to be more critical, while Rotten Tomatoes is a little bit more favorable. Both ratings are on a 1-100 scale.

If a show had multiple seasons, Metacritic broke it into separate ratings. We averaged all seasons for an overall score.

We then averaged all of the shows for that channel or service to get an overall score. If a rating wasn’t available from one of the sites, we would take the rating or average rating from just the one available sites.

Things were going quite well with this methodology until we got to Hulu originals. When it comes to the number popular originals, Hulu isn’t lacking against its competitors at Netflix and HBO. What it is lacking is ratings on Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes. Shows like Quick Draw and Doozers didn’t have a rating on either of the sites. That could mean there aren’t enough Hulu subscribers out there to watch and review the show. It also likely skewed Hulu’s overall rating higher. As a result, we’ll show you the available numbers, but won’t include it in our rankings list.

This list includes shows produced by each channel or provider, even if they are no longer on the air. Shows before 2000 (with the exception of The Sopranos) weren’t included. Shows without rating on either of the sites used for this survey also weren’t included.

The Results

Here’s our list, in order, for channels and services with the best original programming:

1. HBO: 82.3

2. Showtime: 75.1

3. FX: 74

4. Netflix: 73.6

5. AMC: 73.5

6. Amazon: 71.8

7. Starz: 71.6

8. USA Network: 65.2

* Hulu scored 75.8, but less than half of its original shows had ratings on Metacritic or Rotten Tomatoes.

So, yes, while Netflix does have some highly rated shows, the streamer doesn’t necessarily have a higher batting average in delivering original content. In fact there are at least three other content providers on this planet, based on user critiques, that put out better programming.

A few notes:

* The highest rated show on HBO that’s currently on the air is Game of Thrones, at 92. It’s rated behind The Sopranos and and The Wire, shows that ended in 2007 and 2008, respectively.

* Master of None, on Netflix, received a 100 rating on Rotten Tomatoes (it was recently released), resulting in an overall score of 96, the highest score for the streaming service.

* Grace and Frankie (56), Marco Polo (36) and Between (34) were the lowest rated shows on Netflix, bringing its average rating down.

* Starz has surprisingly popular — and scary — shows that don’t receive as much press as HBO or Showtime programming.

* As Netflix creates more original programming, it may not want to get too out of hand. Having one or two shows, but 10 to 15 lousy ones may not bode well for the streaming provider.

* HBO, the ratings winner, has very few shows in their first or second season, which could be a concern looking down the road as some of their most popular shows are now in their 4th, 5th or 6th season.

* FX President John Landgraf has to feel validated that his network’s originals have a higher average rating than Netflix’s.

Total Rankings

NETFLIX	Metacritic	Rotten Tomatoes	Average
House of Cards	77	83	80
Orange is the New Black	83	95	89
Marco Polo	48	24	36
Bloodline	75	80	77
Marvel’s Daredevil	75	98	86
Between	47	22	34
Sense8	63	69	66
Club de Cuervos	N/A	80	80
Narcos	77	78	77
BoJack Horseman	74	78	76
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt	78	94	86
Grace and Frankie	58	55	56
Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp	74	92	83
Master of None	92	100	96
W/ Bob and David	76	88	82

AVERAGE RATING			73.6

HULU
The Awesomes	60	63	61
The Wrong Mans	79	90	84
Deadbeat	N/A	75	75
The Hotwives	67	78	72
Difficult People	76	85	80
Casual	77	90	83
Quick Draw	N/A	N/A
Behind the Mask	N/A	N/A
Mother Up!	N/A	N/A
Doozers	N/A	N/A
What Lives Inside	N/A	N/A
Resident Advisors	N/A	N/A
AVERAGE RATING			75.8

AMAZON
Bosch	71	72	71
Hand of God	44	30	37
Alpha House	68	72	70
Mozart in the Jungle	73	95	84
Transparent	91	98	94
Red Oaks	70	81	75
AVERAGE RATING			71.8

HBO
Game of Thrones	91	94	92
True Detective	72	79	75
The Leftovers	64	69	66
The Comeback	80	90	85
Girls	81	89	85
Veep	81	90	85
Getting On	85	97	91
Silicon Valley	79	93	86
Togetherness	79	93	86
Ballers	65	80	72
Treme	82	98	90
True Blood	68	70	69
Boardwalk Empire	81	90	85
Big Love	75	85	80
Rome	69	N/A	69
Deadwood	86	N/A	86
The Wire	92	96	94
The Sopranos	94	97	95
AVERAGE RATING			82.3

Showtime
Homeland	83	90	86
Ray Donovan	73	77	75
Masters of Sex	82	87	84
Penny Dreadful	73	89	81
The Affair	81	95	88
Episodes	74	72	73
Shameless	71	94	82
House of Lies	63	N/A	63
Dexter	76	79	77
Meadowlands	61	N/A	61
Brotherhood	75	N/A	75
Sleeper Cell	69	N/A	69
The L Word	63	N/A	63
AVERAGE RATING			75.1

AMC
The Walking Dead	79	90	84
Hell on Wheels	66	N/A	66
TURN: Washington’s Spies	64	66	65
Halt and Catch Fire	71	86	78
Better Call Saul	78	100	89
Humans	73	88	80
Fear the Walking Dead	66	76	71
Into the Badlands	55	51	53
Mad Men	86	94	90
Breaking Bad	88	95	91
Rubicon	69	69	69
The Killing	68	70	69
Low Winter Sun	60	43	51
AVERAGE RATING			73.5

FX
American Horror Story	65	73	69
The Americans	86	95	90
Fargo	90	99	94
Tyrant	59	63	61
The Strain	69	83	76
The Bastard Executioner	55	49	52
Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll	60	59	59
Nip/Tuck	73	79	76
Resuce Me	84	89	86
The Riches	68	N/A	68
Damages	78	96	87
Sons of Anarchy	76	89	82
Justified	89	97	93
Terriers	75	94	84
Lights Out	79	90	84
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia	75	96	85
The League	57	75	66
Wilfred	62	75	68
You’re the Worst	73	88	80
Legit	75	96	85
Archer	79	97	88
Unsupervised	46	21	33
Chozen	44	29	36
AVERAGE RATING			74

Starz
Da Vinci’s Demons	65	81	73
Black Sails	58	82	70
Power	66	72	69
Outlander	73	91	82
Survivor’s Remorse	83	96	89
The Missing	85	96	90
Blunt Talk	56	53	54
Ash vs. Evil Dead	75	98	86
Flesh and Bone	52	60	56
Boss	76	84	80
Camelot	58	44	51
Magic City	60	56	58
The White Queen	70	78	74
AVERAGE RATING			71.6

USA Network
Royal Pains	61	72	66
Suits	69	76	72
Satisfaction	63	82	72
Mr. Robot	79	98	88
Playing House	65	88	76
Donny!	32	25	28
Burn Notice	72	80	76
Common Law	54	50	52
Complications	55	59	57
Graceland	58	69	63
Fairly Legal	55	57	56
White Collar	75	N/A	75
Psych	59	N/A	59
Necessary Roughness	62	67	64
Monk	75	N/A	75
AVERAGE RATING			65.2

Have a better way to find out which channel or provider has the best batting average when it comes to original content? Let us know in the comments below.

Does Netflix Really Produce the Best Original Shows?

Our Methodology

The Results

Total Rankings

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