More Netflix And Chill Than Ever Before: Netflix Show Catalogue Set To Grow With $6 Billion Spending Boost
Netflix has promised a $6 billion spending boost on original content, as the streaming service provides its investors with serious profit for the first time. According to BuzzFeed, that $6 billion will be spent on over 1,000 hours of content for Netflix viewers to enjoy. The news comes as Netflix is still managing to attract a healthy number of new subscribers. However, Netflix believes that pumping more of their profits into producing content will attract even more new subscribers in the long term.
The streaming provider took in $2.3 billion in revenue over the most recent quarter, however, it only turned over a profit of $52 million. Whilst Netflix is still spending a large proportion of its revenue on programming, the company has seen a rise in profits. That’s largely helped by a recent price hike that sees users now shelling out more for access to the streaming service. Whilst most users are now paying an average of 10 percent more for their Netflix subscription, the price hike doesn’t appear to have affected subscriber numbers.
Wow. @netflix projected to increase spend on original content from $5 billion this year to $6 billion+ in 2017 https://t.co/QrTBubAhGz pic.twitter.com/zlxif6HgHY
— Jeff Rosica (@JeffJRosica) September 23, 2016
Netflix hopes that by investing $6 billion into programming, they’ll be able to attract even more new subscribers and ultimately provide investors with a serious return next year. However, exactly how Netflix plans to spend that $6 billion and whether or not it will have an affect on paying subscriber numbers remains to be seen.
Alongside its catalog of purchased content, Netflix has begun expanding into making its own content in recent years. In fact, the likes of House of Cards and Stranger Things, have been accredited with the continued success of Netflix, proving to be some of the most popular content on TV. With that in mind, it makes sense that Netflix would choose to spend a sizable chunk of that aforementioned $6 billion on original content, whether that means expanding current content or developing fresh original shows.
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A bump in spending isn’t the only big change coming to Netflix, however. According to Digitial Spy, there’s currently a good deal of speculation that Netflix plans to introduce offline playback for a number of its own original programs. This would allow Netflix users to download and store content on their device for when they’re not connected to the internet. Industry insider Penthera COO Dan Taitz confirmed the speculation, saying, “My expectation is that by the end of the year Netflix will be launching download-to-go as an option for their customers.”
When it comes to offline viewing, Netflix is currently lagging behind the competition. Rival streaming provider Amazon Prime Video currently offers the ability to download a number of its shows to view on the go. However, like Netflix plans to do, Amazon limits users as to which shows are available to download.
‘House of Cards’ star Robin Wright to direct new TV series based on a biography of famous First Ladies: https://t.co/NPRxglaO6e pic.twitter.com/Lwstu2nzfj
— ScreenCrush (@screencrushnews) October 15, 2016
With such a variety of competition when it comes to online streaming, Netflix is undeniably keen to bring some versatility to its streaming service. In 2017, Netflix has promised to continue releasing episodes of some of its most popular original shows, including Stranger Things, Orange Is The New Black, and House of Cards. Netflix has in the past awarded the latter with a budget of $100 million, suggesting why the producers of House of Cards were able to sign Hollywood names that include Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright.
For users who enjoy Netflix’s original shows, there’ll be plenty more to look forward to in 2017, with the provider pumping over $6 billion of funding into programming.
[Featured Image by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images]
