Netflix plans to spend $8 billion on original content to take on media giants

Streaming giant Netflix plans to spend nearly $8 billion on programming especially in creating original content. Also, it plans to have 30 local language originals, up from 8 last year.

The subscriber base of Netflix is growing by leaps and bounds with 18.5 million international subscribers added the video streaming platform’s kitty in 2017 itself. Netflix bade adieu to 2017 with 117.5 million subscribers, with 62 million of them outside the U.S. Sky which boasts a 23 million subscriber base in Europe has partnered with Netflix and now Comcast and Fox are in a bidding war for a controlling stake in Sky.

Michael White, the former CEO of Satellite TV broadcaster DirecTV, quoted, “I think all of the media companies need to look at what Netflix is doing globally because it’s going to change the content economics. If Netflix gets 200 million subscribers from international, they’ll be writing much bigger checks (for content) in Hollywood.”