Netflix has invested billions of dollars in original content over the past few years. It has undertaken big budget projects which included experimental shows and period dramas that had hefty production costs. The days of its liberal spending on original content may be coming to an end as Netflix will reportedly be more careful with its finances going forward.
The Information reports that Netflix is likely going to be more budget conscious for future productions amid increasing competition from new streaming services that have been launched by Apple, NBC Universal, Disney, and WarnerMedia.
It’s said that Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s chief of content, told a handful of high-ranking TV and film executives last month that Netflix now has to be more mindful of its spending on big budget productions.
Any such upcoming projects need to bring in a significant number of viewers instead of just floating by only because they were loved by critics or earned the company more credibility. One of the examples that Sarandos gave was that of action flick Triple Frontier, which despite starring A-lister Ben Affleck and costing $115 million, ended up flopping.
Netflix initially had to invest heavily in big budget productions because it had a point to prove. It wanted to show the industry that it could also produce content that can win Oscars or Emmys. With that having been achieved rather sufficiently, it seems that Netflix now thinks that the money can be better used to make fewer titles while increasing the percentage of hits.
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