Netflix plans spending increase

The CrownStreaming giant Netflix has announced plans to spend up to $8bn on content in 2018, up from $6bn for this year.

The company’s UK shoots include high-end drama The Crown (pictured), historical feature Outlaw King and an upcoming TV prequel to 80s cult fantasy The Dark Crystal

Netflix is also working with UK production company Sister Pictures on drama series Giri/Haji (Duty/Shame), which will be shown on BBC One in the UK before launching internationally on Netflix.

The story follows a Tokyo-based detective who travels to Europe to search for his wayward younger brother, who is thought to be hiding among Yakuza gangsters in London.

Ted Sarandos, chief content officer for Netflix, revealed that the platform wants to release around 80 original films next year, although it’s not yet clear what the balance is planned to be between original productions and licenced content.

“They range anywhere from the million-dollar Sundance hit, all the way up to something on a much larger scale,” said Sarandos, in comments to investors earlier this week. 

Netflix’s revenue for the third quarter of this year reached $2.99bn – a 30% increase on the same period in 2016 – with 5.3 million new subscribers having signed up worldwide over the past three months alone.

Image: Netflix

 



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