Netflix to boost spend in 2019
February 13, 2019
By Chris Forrester
Disney is reported to have decided that its upcoming Captain Marvel movie will not find a release window on Netflix or any other online platform. The news is not unexpected given that Disney is preparing to launch its own SVoD service later this year.
Other studios and content owners have uttered similar plans and curbing or closing the door to the likes of Netflix.
Disney has been reported to be expecting to ‘lose’ some $150 million as a result of the ending of its arrangement with Netflix.
Equity analysts from investment bank Exane/BNPP say this is expected to lead to Netflix spending even more cash on film production and other content transmission rights than previously anticipated. The bank suggests that the investment for Netflix could rise to $15 billion this year (and an acceleration of Netflix’s $12 billion investments last year).
“We expect more content owners, with plans of launching a distribution platform, to become increasingly selective as to what content they are sharing,” says Exane/BNPP. “As such WarnerMedia for instance, which are expected to launch an SVoD platform in 2020, is expected to shortly call back its Friends catalogue. This trend suggests quality content will become increasingly expensive, which has a mixed effect on our TV coverage depending on whether the broadcaster produced the show or not.”