Netflix expects $15bn in subs fees this year
March 9, 2018
By Chris Forrester
Netflix’s CEO Reed Hastings says that the streaming giant expects to generate $15 billion (€12.2bn) in subscriber revenues this year. Currently Netflix has around 117 million subscribers, and growth is continuing.
Hastings was speaking to journalists at a media event, and added that the taking back of content from Netflix by Disney would not pose a particular threat to growth.
He confirmed that Netflix was investing around $8 billion of that sum into original content, but would not be spending to acquire live sports or “follow competitors”. Netflix says it will spend about $2 billion this year on marketing-related activity (up 50 per cent), and $1.3 billion on technology and development.
Netflix’s official guidance for 2018 Q1 is that it will add some 6.5 million new subs (it managed 5 million in the same period in 2017) made up of 1.45 million US-based subscribers and 4.9 million internationally.