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Netflix raising more funds for original programming

Netflix to raise $US800 million of debt in its quest for 50% original content.

The Crown

Netflix has announced plans to raise $US800 million of debt ($AU1.05b) to finance new original content on top of its existing $2.37 billion of debt ($AU3.11B).

The company’s goal is in having 50% original content on the platform and releasing 1,000 hours of new programming in 2017.

Forbes suggests if earnings and subscriber growth are any indication, the service is on the right track: Last week, Netflix announced it had gained 3.57 million subscribers in the third quarter (almost a million more than it had predicted) and posted earnings of 12 cents per share (twice as much as what analysts had predicted).

Earlier this month, the company reportedly agreed to pay a record-breaking $US40 million to Chris Rock for two stand-up comedy specials. The Get Down, which allegedly cost $10 million per episode, looks set to be eclipsed by The Crown next week.

“The Internet allows us to reach audiences all over the world and, with a growing base of over 86 million members, there’s a large appetite for entertainment and a diversity of tastes to satisfy,” Netflix said in its memo.

Yesterday Seven West Media CEO Tim Worner told a Senate Estimates hearing Netflix spent $4.9 billion on content compared to Australia’s Free to Air sector at $2.4 billion.

“Netflix employs precisely one person in this country, I’m not sure if they live here,” he said.

TEN CEO Paul Anderson added, “Despite Netflix commissioning 71 new television series this year at a cost of around $6.4 billion dollars, not one of those series is Australian, and Netflix does not employ one person in this country.”

Netflix is co-funding Glitch with ABC and is creatively involved in production.

2 Responses

  1. So what is Channel10 CEO Paul Anderson suggesting, Netflix is based in America and uses it’s own resources to broadcast by streaming world wide so to suggest that Netflix should produce more Australian content or employ Australian’s in Australia is rather cheeky. I know FTA broadcasters would rather go back to having a protected industry free from interlopers like Netflix but progress has been made.

    1. It’s reasonable to argue Netflix should be producing local content here. Up until now it has played AU titles but without funding them. This now changes with Glitch, so execs will need to vary their language, but there is a long way to go.

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