Netflix to spend more than $6 billion to finance 470 original TV shows and movies that will premiere this year
Netflix is arguably the world's foremost streaming service and has had audiences hooked onto an increasing library of impeccably produced original content; '13 Reasons Why,' 'Stranger Things,' 'House of Cards,' 'Narcos,' 'Bojack Horseman' to name a few. But the network is not ready to rest on its laurels and has its eyes set on a continued dominance, and in that vein, will put aside $8 billion to finance close to 500 original shows for 2018 alone.
According to Variety, Netflix's chief content officer Ted Sarandos spoke at the MoffettNathanson’s Media & Communications Summit 2018 in New York and said that the company's new content policy will entail a sharper focus on original content for the future and that they would stray away from licensing shows and movies owned by Hollywood studios.
Sarandos said that 85% of the streaming giant's $8 billion budget will be directed towards original TV shows, films, and other productions and is expected to result in the service boasting around 1,000 of said originals by the end of the year.
Around 470 of those will premiere between now and the end of the year, out of which 80 will be films ranging from 'sub-indie' low budget pictures to '$110 million blockbusters.'
The content chief also admitted to how producers and content creators now wanted to be on their network: "The creators we’re talking to, they watch Netflix and they want to be on our network," adding: "It’s a great time to be a producer, that’s for sure. the way we can secure those shows is having a great reputation with talent, having a brand people want to be associated with, and a good track record of delivering."
The streaming service has already roped in the likes of Ryan Murphy ('American Crime Story,' 'American Horror Story,' 'Nip/Tick') and Shonda Rhimes ('Grey’s Anatomy,' 'Scandal') in the past and is expected to poach more talented showrunners in the near future.
While Sarandos declined to name anyone in particular, he did state that it was a 'pretty elite class' and that they were looking for creators 'who really care about high-quality content that is culturally relevant.'
The move is most certainly not a risky one, especially taking into consideration how there is an expectation that big media companies will begin to put weight on their own streaming services and thus begin to pull shows and movies from the platform. Add to that the fact that Sarandos said that 90% of customers regularly watch its original programming and the investment should pay dividends in the near future.