The sprawling cast on Orange Is the New Black, the costumes on The Crown, the hours of overtime for the writers brainstorming animal-based puns on BoJack Horseman — these things don’t come cheap. Netflix spent $6 billion in cash in 2016, and it’s reported to be as much as $9.5 billion this year.
How can the streaming service earn that kind of dough? Our $7/month, ad-free, unlimited-hours subscription isn’t enough, even with 100 million users, so according to the Hollywood Reporter, Netflix is hoping to raise another $1.09 billion through a bond offering outside the United States. No sweat.
“Netflix intends to use the net proceeds from this offering for general corporate purposes,” the House That Frank Built said in a statement, “which may include content acquisitions, capital expenditures, investments, working capital and potential acquisitions and strategic transactions.”
As the streaming giant’s content spending has increased, so has the cost to promote its projects. For example, Netflix said… that it would spend more than $1 billion in 2017 to market its content. Analysts also said the latest management commentary that day meant Netflix would likely continue to report free cash flow losses in the coming years, requiring additional funding. (Via)
As long as Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt keeps coming, I don’t care how the sausage is made. (That’s how economics work, right?) Anyway, here’s the trailer for Netflix’s War Machine, a full-length feature about the War in Afghanistan starring Brad Pitt, which only cost, what, a hundred bucks?
I’m not sure if I understand how money works.
(Via the Hollywood Reporter)
