By next year, half of Netflix’s shows and movies will be original content. This is a huge but not surprising development for the streaming service provider.
By 2018, 50 percent of Netflix’s content will be originals series and movies. Those familiar with streaming trends won’t be shocked at this news. Netflix already has spent billions to create many of its hit series and movies. Now it plans to spend another $8 billion on new content for next year’s season. On face value, this decision makes perfect sense given the many hit original series in Netflix’s roster. The loss of content from other sources is also driving Netflix’s urge to create original programming.
There seems to be a mass exodus from Netflix’s content roster these days. Fox began moving its shows to Hulu, and expects to have the transfer done by the end of this month. Disney recently announced that it plans to remove its new movies from Netflix’s catalog sometime next year. Netflix plans to answer this escape by making 80 new original films and 30 new anime series next year. The streaming service made no announcement about how many original movies it plans to make in 2018.
For now, we can only wonder if Netflix’s new original content will attract and retain subscribers. It works for HBO, but that premier channel also has its share of second-run movies. Netflix will too, of course, but it will be without Fox and some Disney content. Another thing that might hurt Netflix is its tendency to prematurely end some of its series. Case in point, the cancellation of Gypsy after just one season. If Netflix plans to lean on the strength of its original content, its execs might want to think twice about pulling the trigger on unfinished series… or at least wrapping things up with a two-hour movie.
I know what I think about Netflix’s latest news. Personally, I subscribe to the “big red one” for its original series and movies. Yes, I also use it to stream second-run movies, but the movie I want to see has to be playing that month. If it’s not available, we have to stream elsewhere. I consider this a minor problem compared to the enjoyment we get from Netflix’s original programming. I only wonder if other streamers will feel the same way next year.
Given its goal to be a leader in original content, Netflix offers a handful of its own series and shows during the second half of Netflix’s October selection:
October 17
Patton Oswalt: Annihilation – Netflix original
Slasher: Guilty Party – Netflix original
October 19
Wedding Unplanned
October 20
1922 – Netflix original film
Haters Back Off: Season 2 – Netflix original
One of Us – Netflix original
Smurfs: The Lost Village
The Day I Met El Chapo: The Kate del Castillo Story – Netflix original
Wheelman – Netflix original film
