At some point, anyone not familiar with how show business works might think that Netflix is going to spend itself into oblivion since the cost of staying on top of the streaming game for so long has been rising over the years and now stands at about $17 billion between original movies and TV. That’s just THIS YEAR that Netflix will be spending this kind of cheddar, but at the moment no one is worried since Netflix has been and still is on top of the competition in a big way since it’s been providing enough content to keep people happy, and what it doesn’t have is easy enough to find on other sites if people so desire. But seriously, this kind of spending sounds like something that would put a company in the tank even if they believed they had the kind of subscriber base that would be able to justify such a number. All the same though, Netflix isn’t budging from it and they’re not acting as though they’re teetering on the cliff waiting for a stiff breeze to blow them over. Other streaming sites have over-extended their reach a bit in the past, and have even found that they can’t keep up, but even with the emergence of several competitors, Netflix has been pushing ahead full steam and hasn’t even flinched most times when new attractions are brought to other sites. One might have thought that the rise of Disney+ would have sent Netflix into a mild panic since not only were they losing the use of a great deal of material, but the Mouse House is known for rolling over other companies when it has the chance. But to date, the two streaming sites have been operating with the understanding that while they don’t really appear intent on outdoing each other, they’re going to remain rivals for a while to come since the name of the game is subscribers and how to get and keep them. And so far, while Disney has done well for itself, Netflix is still comfortable at the top of the mountain. This is what Netflix has to say in regards to its spending, via MovieWeb:
“As seen in the weekly growth chart above, in early Q1, with the benefit of Bridgerton, Lupin and Cobra Kai, we were following a growth trajectory similar to recent years. As we’ve noted previously, the production delays from Covid-19 in 2020 will lead to a 2021 slate that is more heavily second half weighted with a large number of returning franchises. And while the roll out of vaccines is very uneven across the world, we are back up and producing safely in every major market, with the exception of Brazil and India. Assuming this continues, we’ll spend over $17 billion in cash on content this year and we’ll continue to deliver an amazing range of titles for our members with more originals this year than last.”
Even with the pandemic in mind and the lingering effects that are being felt, Netflix isn’t really stopping to take a look around and see what everyone is doing. The streaming network is pushing forward in a manner that makes it clear that they’re out to remain on top and keep things rolling the way they’ve been for a while now. At some point in the future, one might wonder if Netflix is going to hit a wall or find that their best efforts are no longer good enough, but as of now, it feels as though the options that are open to them are so plentiful that even thinking about the sun setting on this streaming network is kind of laughable. It was easy many years ago to think that Netflix was a nice and very fun service that delivered DVDs and provided a few very interesting streaming shows and movies that people hadn’t seen in a while or had been wanting to watch again, but as of now, there’s no denying the fact that the service has a definite edge that even the most successful streaming networks have yet to match. Disney+, Amazon, Hulu, and many others are all effective in their own right and they’ve done well over the years as they’ve continued to follow in Netflix’s wake, and have even come neck and neck with the streaming giant. But they have yet to overtake Netflix in a significant way, and this has been shown in a very dominant fashion as the streaming service continues to plow forward.
It’s believed that HBO Max could unseat Netflix at some point and that it might have even begun a takeover already, but until it’s seen that the service does in fact register as greater than Netflix, it’s likely that most subscribers will believe that Netflix is still at the top of its game.
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