Ted Sarandos, Content Director at Netflix, commented that Netflix is aiming its content spend at original projects, with around 85% of these new spends aimed at original television programs, films and other productions, as mentioned in Variety.
Netflix has established that its content investment for 2018 will be as high as US$8 billion. During the MoffettNathanson Media & Communications Summit, held on Monday in New York, the executive refused to detail what part of that corresponds to licensed vs. originals, but said that most correspond to originals.
The platform will have around a thousand original productions in total in the service at the end of the year, out of which 470 will be launched before the end of 2018, according to Sarandos. More than 90% of Netflix’s clients regularly watch original programming, he added.
In his opinion, it is a great moment to be a producer, that’s for sure.
When consulted on if he was surprised that companies such as Disney were putting pressure in the SVOD market, he answered that “it was actually slower than he had thought.” Regarding Disney specifically, he said: “I don´t know why they took so long.”
One of the most attractive things about Netflix for creatives is that they have the freedom to explore a range of different projects, regardless of the ratings. “They don´t care about ratings,” he said.
