In what, with a little work, could easily become the most aggressive Letterboxd streaming service in human history, a new study suggests that some 77 million Americans might be willing to pay money for a dedicated streaming network independent films and documentaries. . This, on IndieWirereporting on a study of 118 pages led by former Sundance Institute CEO Keri Putnam, examining “Audiences and the US Independent Film Landscape.” Combining survey data, field reports, expert interviews and more, the study suggests that indie films have taken off in recent years as more traditional streaming services have shifted from low-budget fare to more offerings successful and because the market continued to fragment.

Specifically, the study lists ca one of its key findings the claim that 36.7 million Americans say they watch independent films, 52 million call themselves “definite fans” of independent film, and 77 million said they would pay for an indie-oriented streamer. Even with certain caveats that immediately come to mind—namely, how many of these people have been on or close to a first date while asserting their deep desire to watch independent films instead of blowing their brains out with the same YouTube clip for the umpteenth time—which further suggests that there’s a large untapped market for indies that isn’t being served by the current process of a) hearing about an indie film, b) checking which streaming service it’s landed on, if any , c) trying to remember if you have that one, and finally d) uploading that YouTube clip you just watched for the 13th time instead of going through the hassle.

Of course we do also can’t help but note that the report also lists current subscriber estimates for a number of streamers that already focus at least partially on non-studio fare, including the fact that even between the three of them, The Criterion Channel, MUBI , and IFC have less of one million estimated US subscribers, not to mention 77. The study estimates that there are currently about 3 million people in the US who pay specifically for streaming access to indie films, though it also partly blames fracking that smaller market in the low numbers. (That is, if there was a place you could go all indies, rather than having to search between multiple, often quite expensive options, more people would bite.) He also notes that free independent streamers like FilmRise have about 15 million subscribers (not counting all the material independently posted on YouTube, Roku, Tubi and the like) and is a possible alternative to a paid service.

It is, if nothing else, an interesting study to browse, even if some of its conclusions and recommendations seem a bit pie in the sky. (Many of his suggestions require an emphasis on centralization and coordination that is quite antithetical to the nature of independent films, at least from a surface-level reading.) Still, as outside observers who have seen services like Criterion and MUBI do, and we argue really interesting material from the past few years, we can’t help but feel a little hopeful while reading it; given how thoroughly the majority non-the independent streaming landscape seems to be tripping over itself to be Cable 2.0, the idea of ​​something more advanced can’t help but appeal.