Netflix expected to spend $17.3B on content in 2020: Report
This year, Netflix is projected to invest $17.3 billion in content on a cash basis, according to an analysis by BMO Capital Markets.
That forecast is up from the amount it spent in 2019 -- $15.3 billion -- and the popular streaming service's content spending will surpass $26 billion by 2028, Variety reported Thursday citing BMO. The firm expects most of its 2020 spending to go toward creating originals.
"We continue to believe the 'streaming wars' narrative is false and there will be multiple winners in global streaming," BMO analyst Dan Soloman wrote in the note.
In this Friday, Jan. 17, 2014, file photo, a person displays Netflix on a tablet in North Andover, Mass. / iStock
A Netflix spokesperson told FOX Business it does not comment on third-party predictions, but the company will be sharing some of its own forecasts next week.
The streaming service, which has been around since 1997 and currently has 158 million global subscribers, has been something of a trailblazer in the industry since it found its footing in 2012 and in its production of original content.
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Original shows and movies like "Stranger Things," "Bird Box," "Murder Mystery," "The Umbrella Academy," "You" and "Triple Frontier" brought tens of millions of views to the site in 2019, according to its third-quarter earnings report.
Netflix also received 24 Academy Award nominations in 2019, including two best picture nominations for "The Irishman" and "Marriage Story."
This image released by Netflix shows Scarlett Johansson, left, and Adam Driver in "Marriage Story." (Netflix via AP)
The company has to put up such large expenses to stay competitive with streaming rivals like Amazon, HBO, Hulu and Apple, which have also put billions into creating original content. Apple and Amazon spent a combined $12 billion on programming content in 2018, according to The Motley Fool.
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"With so many firms now looking to provide premium video content to consumers, it’s a great time to be a creator of content," Netflix wrote in its third-quarter earnings report. "Amazing content can be expensive. We don’t shy away from taking bold swings if we think the business impact will also be amazing. We don’t close every deal we chase and we don’t chase every deal on the table."