Streaming Services More Likely To Have Female Protagonists: Study

SAN DIEGO, CA — In 2019-20, original programs on streaming services featured substantially more female protagonists than cable channels or broadcast networks, according to a report released Thursday.

"Boxed In," the report from Martha Lauzen, executive director of the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University, stated that 42% of streaming programs had clearly identifiable sole female protagonists, while just 27% of cable programs had female protagonists, and 24% of broadcast programs featured female protagonists. For the purposes of the study, protagonists were defined as the characters from whose perspective the story is told.

"The gains demonstrate that streamers are outpacing both the broadcast networks and cable channels in hiring key behind-the-scenes women and in telling stories from a female perspective," Lauzen said.

In addition, original programs on streaming services were just as likely to have female protagonists as male protagonists, with 42% of programs on streaming services featuring female protagonists, 42% with male protagonists and 16% featuring ensembles.

According to the report, women also reached historic highs as creators, directors, writers, executive producers, producers, editors and directors of photography on original programs featured on streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime and HBO Max. The gains made by women working as directors and directors of photography year-over-year were particularly stark. The percentage of women working as directors rose from 15% in 2018-19 to 32% in 2019-20. The percentage of women working as directors of photography rose from 3% 2018-19 to 17% in 2019-20.

The percentages of women working in key behind-the-scenes roles on programs from the broadcast networks and cable channels remained stagnant or declined slightly.

Regarding race and ethnicity, across platforms the percentage of Black female characters increased slightly — from 17% in 2018-19 to 20% in 2019-20 — the percentage of Asian females increased slightly from 7% in 2018-19 to 8% in 2019-20, but the percentage of Latinas decreased slightly from 6% in 2018- 19 to 5% in 2019-20.

Boxed In summarizes the findings of a content analysis of characters and behind-the-scenes credits on dramas, comedies and reality programs appearing on the broadcast networks, basic and premium cable channels and streaming services. In 2019-20, the study tracked more than 4,100 characters and 4,200 behind-the-scenes credits.

Over the last 23 years, the study has monitored more than 47,000 characters and more than 59,000 behind-the-scenes credits.

— City News Service