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Netflix will increase its spending on making TV shows in the UK to $ 1 billion (£ 750 million) this year as the streaming giant maintains the dizzying pace of its production pipeline despite the coronavirus pandemic.
Netflix, which makes programs from The Crown to Sex Education in the UK, has increased its budget by 50% from the $ 500 million it spent on British-made films and TV shows last year.
The expense was invested to make more than 50 TV shows and films in 2020, against the backdrop of a UK production shutdown for a few months earlier this year due to coronavirus restrictions.
The UK has firmly established itself as the most important international production hub for Netflix, which is estimated to spend $ 17 billion on making and licensing TV programs and films this year, with the UK budget second only to its home market. in the United States. About a third of all Netflix productions in Europe, for its 200 million global subscriber base, are made in the UK.
The binge-watching model introduced by Netflix requires a sizeable content pipeline and the UK takes center stage as a production location.
“The UK is an incredibly important market for Netflix and we are proud to be increasing our investment in the UK’s creative industries,” a spokesperson for Netflix said. “The Crown, Sex Education and The Witcher are among the shows that have been made in the UK this year and will be watched by all over the world. These shows are a testament to the depth of talent that exists here. “
The Witcher, played by former Superman Henry Cavill, has been shut down twice this year due to positive coronavirus tests. The high-budget series, shot at Arborfield Studios in Berkshire, was one of the first UK productions to stop filming when a cast member tested positive for coronavirus in March and stopped a second time at the start of this. month after more positive tests.
Last October, Netflix struck a 10-year deal to take over all Shepperton Studios, home to films ranging from Alien to Mary Poppins, to ensure the space it needs to pump up productions without delay. The first production was Charlize Theron’s The Old Guard.
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Meanwhile, Shepperton’s parent company Pinewood Studios, home to the James Bond and Star Wars franchises, has struck a similar deal with Disney. The largest entertainment company in the world has agreed on the long-term deal as it moves the business, traditionally focused on cinema and pay TV releases, to streaming with the launch of the Disney + streaming service. Earlier this month, Disney announced that its streaming service, which was backed by the $ 100 million Star Wars TV spin-off The Mandalorian, managed to attract less than 74 million subscribers worldwide. one year after launch.
Nearly £ 3.7 billion was spent last year shooting high-end TV shows and films in the UK, including blockbusters such as the James Bond film No Time to Die. Although £ 1.95bn has been spent on filmmaking, the engine of growth is high-end television production, defined as shows costing more than £ 1m per episode. Spending on such shows, from Game of Thrones to His Dark Materials, nearly tripled to £ 1.7bn between 2014 and 2019, according to industry body BFI. Nearly 80% of that spending comes from Netflix, Amazon and Disney, which have a combined UK audience of over 30 million and more than 400 million globally.
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