Netflix Has a Message for Hollywood: We’re Still Spending Money
21.06.2022 - 23:53
/ variety.com
Netflix has a message for Hollywood: We’re not broke.In the wake of a massive stock slide triggered by a subscriber dip during the first quarter, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, head of global film Scott Stuber and head of global television Bela Bajaria have launched a charm offensive, stressing to top creators and agents that they will continue to spend aggressively to make and market movies and shows. In calls and in-person meetings, sources say they have positioned the April stock drop as a setback, reassured filmmakers and showrunners that they remain well-capitalized and informed them that they don’t believe the answer to their current predicament is to stop competing for buzzy content.
Also mentioned: that their content budgets are locked for 2022 and 2023 (Netflix spent $17 billion on content in 2021 and expects to shell out the same this year). A source familiar with the company says that agency and creator check-ins are routine. The source also stresses that Netflix continues to have over 200 million paying subscribers, giving it financial heft.Netflix has made two recent moves that signaled a willingness to still spend big. On May 21, the streamer dropped $50 million on the feature film package “Pain Hustlers,” from Emily Blunt and David Yates, out of this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
Then last week it set up a “Squid Game”-inspired reality competition series with an eye-popping grand prize of $4.56 million.But producers and production companies have already begun bracing for belt-tightening, as has the streamer, with a second round of layoffs expected this week. Even before Netflix ceased to be a Wall Street darling, the company was economizing.
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