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Netflix CEO: Why Even $8 Billion Investment in Content Isn't Enough (axios.com)

Posted by msmash on from the perspective dept.

Netflix expects to spend about $8 billion on content this year. For Hollywood studios, that's a reasonable figure. But for Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, it's not enough. From a report: The company is competing against a range of traditional entertainment companies around the globe, and of course, against the need to work, sleep and do other things. Speaking at TED in Vancouver, Hastings noted that $8 billion is about what Disney spends. "That's spread globally," he said. "It's not as much as it sounds." Hastings noted that House of Cards wasn't really the company's first effort at original content. It had tried back in the days when it was still mailing out DVDs. "It didn't work out because we were sub-scale," he said.

6 of 93 comments (clear)

  1. If Netflix by bobstreo · · Score: 2, Insightful

    would forget about Adam Sandler and swear to never create any content with Musical Contests, Batchelor* shows, or "deep hitting" news stories, they can save money and grow viewership.

    1. Re:If Netflix by JDeane · · Score: 4, Insightful

      About to cancel my subscription to Netflix and probably not for the reason or reasons most would...

      It's that damned auto play preview music and video clip every show plays if you move just so much as look at a picture for a moment...

      For like the first 10 minutes I thought it was cool, then I got mildly annoyed with it, then I looked for a way to turn it off.. Now I signed up for Direct TV Now and Amazon and maybe I will switch to Hulu... But really Netflix needs to have that optional.

    2. Re:If Netflix by bloodhawk · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I think the problem is these crappy reality shows are relatively cheap to put on, you don't need to pay the contestants and the prizes are generally a fraction of what real actors/script writers etc etc would cost. I saw a recent article claiming it was at a minimum double the cost for series episode and that is for the cheap less successful ones where they don't have to pay the talent as much.

  2. 8 Billion Isn't Enough To Make People Eat Shit by NicknameUnavailable · · Score: 1, Insightful

    They need to focus on quality content and not just throw money at every liberal extremist with a bad idea for a movie or show.

  3. Re:Too bad by AmiMoJo · · Score: 4, Insightful

    You can always find someone who thinks everything is shit, but actually Netflix has produced some really good stuff over the years.

    Some of the Marvel stuff is great. Jessica Jones season 1 was some of the best TV of the last decade. Daredevil was pretty good, even The Punisher was quite enjoyable. Shame The Defenders sucked.

    Other stuff generally regarded as very good:

    - The Crown
    - Stranger Things
    - Black Mirror
    - Star Trek Discovery
    - Altered Carbon
    - House of Cards
    - The Foreigner
    - Better Call Saul
    - Making a Murderer
    - Orphan Black
    - The Expanse
    - Sense8
    - Master of None
    - Glow

    There is a lot more, especially if you don't mind subtitles.

    --
    const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
    SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
  4. Re:Too bad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    UK series: 4 episodes
    US series: 65 episodes

    The "Netflix original content" branding means Netflix produced it (paid for at least part of the filming), not that they wrote the story. Under your definition, they couldn't claim Longmire or Altered Carbon since they were originally books and Longmire is extra seasons of a show that started on A&E, Making a Murderer since it's a documentary, Better Call Saul since it's a spin off of an AMC show, etc.