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In the war for attention, the fight is between the new and the familiar – and GenAI is shaping up to be the newest weapon in the franchise arsenal. For platforms sitting on powerful IP, the technology promises to supercharge fan engagement, extend storytelling, and unlock fresh monetization streams in ways the industry hasn’t yet fully tapped.
Franchise content has already been pushing the boundaries of what a series can stand for, think the ‘Squid Game’ pop-up store in Korea or Dornish Wine from ‘Game of Thrones’. These are not just just quirky sidenotes, they’re strategic moves to keep audiences engaged with a brand long after the final episode. Now, imagine layering in GenAI to create hyper-personalized fan experiences, interactive storylines, or virtual events that adapt in real time. The result could be a stickier, more profitable relationship between IP and audience.
The push to make the most of a hit idea reflects a larger shift in the streaming economy, one that has moved on from acquiring new viewers to retaining existing ones. With an average of 2.9 services per US household, the market has reached peak subscription stacking. In this saturated landscape, the average viewer, streaming nearly 21 hours of digital content per week, needs more than just the ‘next big show’ to stay on a platform.
Changing Economics of Streaming
The streaming economy has entered a new phase, defined by a notable shift in audience preferences and rising production risks.
Our own analysis of open source data from seven platforms shows that during the pandemic, 60% of the most popular shows were original series. That figure dropped to 44% by 2024-2025. On Netflix, 80% of original series were cancelled within two seasons in 2022, underscoring the risk factor of non-franchise content.
Most Popular Show During 2020-2021 and 2024 -2025
Viewers tend to lean into established universes that offer emotional comfort and predictability. Franchises span reboots, like Doctor Who and Queer Eye, and spin-offs such as House of the Dragon or 1923.
What comes next for OTT platforms isn’t more content alone, but a deeper rethinking of how they activate their IP, engage their audience, and drive value across the ecosystem.
How GenAI Can Help in Maximizing Returns on Franchise IP
The biggest advantage of franchise IP is the captive audience and ready-made worlds, while minimizing costs related to development, casting, and marketing and reducing production time.
Advanced analytics and GenAI take this further, tracking viewer sentiment and character engagement in real time, revealing which storylines and characters resonate most with the audience. Imagine ‘Money Heist: Korea’, a spin-off born from tracking which characters and plotlines fans loved most in the original series. Or think about a potential U.S. version of ‘Squid Game’ with more American references.
Beyond storytelling, marketing efforts benefit too with AI-generated memes, social clips, and digital campaigns in real time. This apart, fan excitement can be built parallely beyond the show with interactive experiences, from gamified versions, quizzes about character backstories to fan-fiction frameworks that let audiences expand the universe themselves. The feedback on all these efforts are again picked up through social chatter and reviews to help identify what’s working. In essence, the combination of analytics and GenAI transforms a franchise into a living world — one that adapts, grows, and keeps audiences coming back for more.
OTT Platforms as AI-Driven Experience Hubs
Streaming platforms are no longer just content libraries, they are evolving into interactive experience hubs that merge entertainment, community and commerce. GenAI plays a pivotal role in building these ecosystems:
- Lore-Powered Chatbots: AI-powered bots can engage fans with deep franchise knowledge, answering questions about characters, events, or timelines, making the experience more immersive.
- Digital Fan Interactions: Platforms can now offer virtual meet-and-greets with AI-generated “digital twins” of fan-favourite characters, bridging the gap between storytelling and fan service.
- Game Extensions: OTT platforms are now looking for additional venues inside the platform to keep the audience hooked to the content. Netflix has expanded its franchises into gaming with titles like Squid Game: Unleashed, Black Mirror: Thronglets and Stranger Things 3: The Game, turning passive viewing into active engagement.
Platforms should also explore offline opportunities to deliver interactive experiences that not only promote their content but also deepen fan immersion and strengthen audience loyalty.
Squid Game : the Experience popup store in Seoul, South Korea
Monetization Beyond Streaming
To fully capitalize on IP, streaming platforms must look beyond views and into verticals. GenAI allows platforms to not only optimize for content engagement but also to unlock commercial potential across physical and digital channels.
We have seen how in-universe products can inspire real-world merchandising with Dornish Wine (from ‘Game of Thrones’) or Mahakam Potato Soup (from ‘The Witcher’). But to ensure there is no guesswork in such marketing initiatives, GenAI helps identify fan-favourite items that can be turned into NFTs or virtual wearables, whether for gaming tie-ins or future metaverse integrations.
A prime example of where AI can be leveraged is the Netflix House, a retail and dining experience inspired by the platform’s shows. Launching in Philadelphia and Dallas by late 2025, these permanent venues will offer exclusive merchandise and menus drawn from the streaming giant’s catalogue. GenAI-driven analytics can help extend this strategy even further by identifying digital assets NFTs, virtual props, character skins for fan purchase, enhancing monetization within immersive universes. This expansion of the franchise universe creates a self-sustaining loop: more touchpoints, more loyalty, more revenue.
A Look at the New Netflix House : Philadelphia
Streaming’s Future Is Orchestration, Not Just Distribution
To thrive in the next decade, OTT platforms must evolve from being content distributors to becoming orchestrators of intellectual property. GenAI is central to this transition – scaling not just content, but also context, community, and commerce.
Whether it’s greenlighting the right spinoff, crafting immersive fan moments, or unlocking new revenue channels, GenAI-powered analytics is the connective tissue between creators, audiences, and monetization strategies. The future of streaming won’t be defined solely by what audiences watch, but by how they interact, engage, and invest in the worlds they love.
