The Distribution Arc: How Long Does It Take a Hit Film to Go Free?

By David Markowitz | April 6, 2026
Infographic showing four key statistics from Reelgood's analysis of 7,966 popular films: 9.4-month median time to free streaming, 57% faster window compression since 2020, 2.5-month median for 2025 releases, and 7,966 titles analyzed.

Reelgood analyzed 1.93 million availability windows across 240 platforms (US market) to quantify the streaming industry’s best-kept open secret: the windowing clock is accelerating, and the data tells a different story than most licensing teams assume. Key Takeaways The median time from a popular movie’s first paid availability to its first free/AVOD appearance is 9.4…

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Where Was That Title Last Year? Why Historical Streaming Availability Data Is a Strategic Necessity

By David Markowitz | February 24, 2026
title availability posters

Key Takeaways Historical streaming TV & movie availability data provides the context that licensing teams, rights managers, and analysts need to make informed decisions about content worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Without it, organizations risk overpaying for overexposed content, missing compliance violations, misreading viewership trends, and leaving revenue on the table. Real-world content licensing…

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