After capturing the public mood with TV dramas from The Queen’s Gambit to The Crown, the streaming giant will hugely increase its investment in the UK.
Last year, Netflix spent £500 million in the UK but this year’s budget has increased to $1 billion (~£750 million) according to The Guardian – so we’re excited to see what changes this huge increase will make to the service’s new content. For comparison, the TV budget for the BBC is around £1.6 billion, while ITV reportedly spends around £1.1 billion.
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Netflix’s UK budget is already invested in 50 TV shows and films – including The Crown, Sex Education, and The Witcher – and Netflix commented that “These shows are a testament to the depth of talent that exists here”. It will certainly come as relieving news for the British economy that Netflix has committed to investing more money in the country, after measures taken against the coronavirus pandemic stopped production on many film sets.
While Netflix’s global budget is reportedly around $17 billion, the UK market is second only to the US in terms of investment, and it accounts for roughly a third of all European productions for Netflix.
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But will all the extra money result in an increase in quality? Netflix will surely be hoping so, as potential rivals now are threatening its turf. Disney Plus launched in the UK earlier this year while BritBox has been around for about a year, and both of these along with the emergence of other streaming services, could put Netflix’s pole position under pressure.
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