Netflix to spend $3bn on TV and film content in 2014

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/feb/05/netflix-spend-3-billion-tv-film-content-2014

Netflix is committed to spending $3 billion on TV and film content in 2014 and more than $6 billion pound s over the next three year, for the cost of the securing international rights and commissioning news shows. The US Company has announced this week that it is to raise $400 million to help fund this investment in original programming. The company said it has to pay $2.97 billion of that by the end of 2014, with a total of $6.2 billion due within three years. Netflix made $4.3 billion in total revenues last year, a healthy 19% year on year. Netflix has grown over the last year, in term of their shares, with its share price surging from $92 to $367 across 2013. The license cost are the major factor, also rose 17% from $2.6 billion to $3.1 billion The company's international subscriber base grew by 1.7 million to 10.93 million in the final quarter last year. Across 2013, Netflix put on 4.8 million new international subscribers in total, an 80% year-on-year increase.

• Its annual report, published this week, shows that at the end of 2013, Netflix had run up $7.3 illiobn in "streaming content obligations", which are incurred when the company signs a licence agreement for programming, up 30% from the $5.6 billion owed at the end of 2012.

• The US movie and TV streaming giant, which is expected to expand into Germany and France later this year, said that it expects to "substantially increase" investment in shows that it makes itself, such as House Of Cards and Orange is the New Black.

• With another $500m ploughed into marketing, $378m into technology development and $180m in "general and administrative expenses", the US Company ended the year with net profits of $112 million.

• "We expect to significantly increase our investments in international expansion, including substantial expansion in Europe in 2014, and in original content," the company said in a Securities & Exchange Commission filing. "As a result, and to take advantage of the current favourable interest rate environment, we plan to obtain approximately $400m in long-term debt in the first quarter.

• Netflix launched its first streaming operation outside the US in 2010, when it expanded to Canada.

• Latin America followed in 2011, the UK and Ireland in early 2012, and Scandinavia later the same year. 

• The Netherlands is Netflix's latest market, launched in September last year.

I think that Netflix is a popular and huge business due to the movies they put up and television programmes they air on their website, which is getting more people involved and interested in these shows, which is targeting more people to watch these shows. Netflix are planing to expanding and improve the business, make it ten times better, adding more shows and television programmes to their website, which means they are target many more people to the business.