Netflix Plans To Spend An Insane $8 BILLION On Content Next Year
Source – Netflix once again beat expectations on subscriber growth, packing on 7.4 million net streaming customers worldwide for the first quarter of 2018.
The company’s total net gain of 7.4 million subscribers in Q1 — a new record for the first quarter — topped its previous guidance of 6.35 million by more than a million. The company counted 125 million subscribers worldwide as of the end of March.
The company said it expects content spending of $7.5 billion to $8 billion for 2018, in line with its previous estimates. The company cited shows like “Queer Eye” and “Nailed It” as “great examples of our ambitions in this area: engaging, buzz-worthy shows that drive lots of enjoyment around the world.”
Netflix’s marketing spending was up a whopping 77% in the first quarter, to $479 million. The company had previously told investors it would increase its investment in marketing for 2018.
Obviously, there are a lot of factors that go into growing a company like Netflix. If you’re interested in learning what those factors are, you can click here. The long and short of the article is that Netflix is fucking huge. Bigger than we thought, richer than we thought, and expanding faster than what was predicted at this time last year. It gained 7.5 million subscribers in the past three months pushing its total subscription base to 125 million people worldwide. And every single one of them is paying ten bucks a month. Which is the exact reason why they can spend eight BILLION dollars on content next year. Think about how much money that is. Having worked in production I know roughly how much things cost and I still can’t wrap my head around that number. I guess things add up when you pay guys like Dave Chappelle sixty-million dollars for three specials or drop one-hundred-thirty-million dollars making one season of The Crown, but it’s still mind bottling.
I’d be curious to find out how many of the people that are paying for Netflix are actually regular watchers. Because I’ve been paying for like five years and I watch it maybe twice a month. A little more now that Queer Eye is on. Which was cited as one of their most “engaging, buzz-worthy shows that drives lots of enjoyment around the world.” If you haven’t seen it you should check it out. It’s a bunch of gay guys making over a disgusting straight person who usually cries at the end. My favorite was this guy Tom. He was so thankful they helped him stop being gross that he invited all five of the guys to be groomsmen in his wedding. Risky move considering they’ll most likely upstage the bride.
The article made it seem like they’re looking to expand that ‘type’ of content but that’s neither here nor there.
It’s fascinating to think how much Netflix has changed the way we consume media in its short, twenty-year lifespan. It’s like the Amazon of television. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of shows they put next year’s $8 billion budget towards. Whatever they are, I’m sure they’ll be great. They didn’t get as big as they are by putting out crap.
