As if wasn’t already hard enough to try and keep up with what’s worth watching in this era of Peak TV, where almost 500 scripted TV shows air across broadcast, cable, premium, and streaming platforms, Netflix is doubling down. It’s not enough for them to release a new series or new season or a new movie, comedy special, or whatnot every week now – they’re going forbroke.
According toVariety, Netflix CFODavid Wellsspoke at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference Tuesday on the subject, saying that the streaming giant will have around 700 original TV shows and movies on its platform in 2018 (which includes returning series), to the tune of about $8 billion in costs (a total that also includes licensed content in addition to originals).
When I recommend a TV show to a friend or acquaintance, the first question they ask me is “is it on Netflix?” Anecdotally, I see more and more people dedicating themselves just to Netflix, which is far cheaper than a cable subscription, and a place where a lot of TV shows end up anyway (and there are plenty of movies to choose from). But Netflix’s acquired library is shrinking a little (as back catalogue works move to Hulu and Amazon) as it focuses more on original content that it then owns and can profit off of exclusively. However, as Wells said,
There’s “no religion” at Netflix about the source of programming, although the company increasingly intends to produce its own content. “People don’t care where the stories come from,” he said. “We’re about having the best content. We don’t necessarily have to do it ourselves.”
