(Christmas music)
- So much snow, so many sweaters, so many patterns,
a lot of eggnog, a tree.
- [Narrator] This holiday season you're probably
gonna watch an iconic holiday movie.
In fact, it's the third most popular
holiday tradition in America,
after decorating the tree and decorating the house.
So whether it's Ralphie in awe of his father's major award
in the epitome of classic childhood nostalgia,
- Yeah, statue.
- [Narrator] John McClane crashing the party
in a slightly more violent alternative,
- Yippee-ki-yay, mother (beep).
- [Narrator] Or drowning in a tidal wave of
uber cheesy, functionally-the-same, romance-driven schmaltz
There's no shortage of options for holiday cheer
in your living room each year.
And whether you know it or not,
you're at the center of the holiday content war.
(Christmas rock music)
(dramatic explosion)
(uplifting piano music)
- TV, streaming, they're all trying to occupy your eyes.
And as families gather, networks and studios
prep all year round for holiday season
in what I like to call the holiday content war.
- [Narrator] By holiday content war,
we mean the war for your holiday eyeballs.
- [TV announcer for Lifetime] The only place to watch
your favorite holiday movies is Lifetime.
- [TV announcer for Hallmark] Only on Hallmark Channel.
(Christmas jingle)
- [Narrator] Some people think holiday movies
mean the time-honored traditional family classics.
- Stuck, stuck, stuck!
- To my big brother, George, the richest man in town.
- [Narrator] Some people think holiday movies
means the slightly more subversive.
- Krampus is good.
- No, mm-mm, nope.
- Krampus is a good, scary holiday movie.
(dramatic slam)
(eerie music)
Don't judge me.
(laughing)
- [Narrator] But in order to watch
the best Christmas movies of all time,
according to Rotten Tomatoes,
you need at least six different streaming platforms
and you still wouldn't find all of them.
For example, It's A Wonderful Life has only been
available for streaming since 2018,
but the only place you'll find A Christmas Story,
without renting it, is on cable network, TBS.
- The more traditional networks
have held onto the rights to,
you know, some of the classic films,
they have to retain those assets.
If they give them out to, you know, the other OTT's,
Netflix, Apple, or Hulu, or Amazon,
they're just giving up that market share
and those eyeballs and that attention.
This is a time to hang onto those classics.
Those classics have so much currency, so much capital,
and keep bringing back multiple generations of viewers.
- [Narrator] In part, that's because holiday classics
can be expensive to acquire.
More importantly, they aren't effective
at getting viewers to subscribe, or stay subscribed.
That's one of the reasons Netflix is rushing
to have original in-house content
account for fifty percent of its catalog, by 2020.
For example, Netflix spent 12 billion dollars
on content in 2018, with about 85 percent of that
earmarked for original series and films.
- Netflix has been very smart
with creating their own content.
I put in Miracle on 34th, not on here,
but it automatically brings up Christmas movies.
Oh, this is what you wanna watch,
let me give you something
- I got you. that's similar
with creating their own original content.
The Netflix and the Hulus are trying their best to go,
"You're in the mood for this,
here's some content you should watch."
- [Narrator] Speaking of original content,
Hallmark, alone, has 232 original holiday films.
In fact, Hallmark is releasing
a record 40 original new holiday movies this year.
Lifetime's close behind with 28,
and Netflix is throwing their hat into the ring with six.
- All the Hallmark movies, I love them.
They're the same formula.
It's a lady in a big city.
- [Movie Announcer] Holly Maddux had the perfect job.
- [Jordan] She's like the head of an advertising firm.
- Or she owns a bakery.
- [Jordan] She owns a bakery,
- [Hannah Swensen] Just here delivering cookies.
- [Jordan] finds a hunk there.
(surprised grunting)
- And it's like, you know what?
Maybe twinkly lights and carolers,
this is where I should be.
- Home for the holidays.
- Home for Christmas.
- I'm happy right here.
- And there's a big tree and Christmas.
- My family tradition was that we'd always,
James Bond films used to always drop right at Thanksgiving.
(James Bond theme)
The day after Thanksgiving,
that would be the jump-off to the holiday season.
And then, that would be like, kind of the usher,
that would be the new thing, every year.
And then, that would usher in all the classics,
animated, or otherwise.
- See, but there's holiday films,
and then there's films that drop on the holiday.
- [Narrator] It's something streaming platform have noticed
and are starting to capitalize on.
Netflix released the post-apocalyptic horror feature,
Bird Box, on the Friday before Christmas, last year.
And racked up over forty-five million views
in the week between Christmas and New Years, alone.
It even spawned some memes that instantly went viral.
- So, what makes the difference?
Is it just holiday films
that can be considered holiday films,
or we talking about traditions?
- If you've only seen it once,
then it's not much of a holiday movie to you.
It's gotta be something that you come back to
year after year, that you know the lines of.
I know all the lines to Scrooged.
I know all the lines
to National Lampoons Christmas Vacation.
"The little lights aren't twinkling."
- [Narrator] So whether it's timeless classics
- One of my favorite holiday movies is Scrooged.
- Fact.
It's brilliant.
- [Narrator] Or your own personal classics
- Krampus is good.
Make me feel something!
- [Narrator] Or just mainlining
a blizzard of Christmas cookie-cutters,
we all have different holiday movie traditions.
- I like claymation, and I like stop-animation.
And not everybody likes claymation.
(disapproving grunt)
- [Narrator] But depending on what that movie tradition is
dictates which platform you'll need in order to watch them.
And that's what the holiday content war is all about.
- Would you consider this a holiday movie?
- Holiday movie?
It's a holiday staple.
(laughing)
Wait for season three.
(fire crackling)