Netflix is already known for its popular original series like Stranger Things, Narcos, Orange is the New Black and House of Cards. While these shows are extremely successful in terms of viewership, awards and media attention, subscribers can expect to see a whole lot more new original titles in the future.
The platform's CFO David Wells announced the company's plans to increase the amount of original programming and that it has to consist of a total of 50 percent of all of its content at Goldman Sach's Communacopia conference on Tuesday.
It's Netflix's goal to up the amount of original titles it offers over the next few years. This will consist of content that is owned and produced by the company as well as other acquisitions.
Earlier this year, Netflix chief of content Ted Sarandos announced that the company would increase the amount of original programming from 450 hours in 2015 to 600 hours for 2016.
Now, Wells revealed that the company is already about "one-third to halfway" at reaching its 50 percent original programming target.
While this means more original series and movies will be added to the streaming platform, it also means that classic and new movies and popular TV series that air on other networks will be cut.
Of course, the company realizes that not every original title will be a hit among viewers, despite the fact that many of its shows — like Stranger Things, for example — are immediately picked up for more seasons.
However, when a series like this does sit well with audiences, it's so worth it. That means Netflix will focus its attention on producing more compelling series and movies, which is better strategy financially, since licensing agreements only last for a set period of time, which means the company would have to continue to pay to have that content featured in its library.
Original content, on the other hand, would continue to be valuable over time since these projects are one-time costs to be created. Most of its original projects don't call for major budgets, Wells said.
Netflix is expected to spend $6 billion on content for 2017, after spending $5 billion in 2016. To help with the cost of this, the company has already started moving all users to its standard $9.99 per month subscription. The company has no current plans to introduce ads to help bring in revenue anytime soon.
For subscribers, this means more quality, niche programming with no commercials.
Source: Variety
