Much of Netflix's growth will be in the unscripted, internationally-aimed category...
Netflix continues its period of exponential growth. Though it may seem like there is already a new Netflix original series every week, the online streaming giant is looking to double its original content output in 2017. It will particularly be looking to create more unscripted content and content that is "more likely to travel internationally."
More unscripted content...
Speaking at the UBS Global Media & Communications Conference, Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos said (via Variety) that Netflix plans to debut 20 unscripted TV shows in 2017. This includes Ultimate Beastmaster, produced by Sylvester Stallone and featuring athletes from six different countries (America, Brazil, South Korea, Mexico, Germany, and Japan), as well as The Biggest Loser. just released a trailer today for unscripted series Chasing Cameron, set to premiere just shy of 2017, which will follow social media star Cameron Dallas.
More original scripted content — produced in-house and elsewhere...
The unscripted editions will be in addition to the 30 original scripted series Netflix currently has in development. In total, Netflix hopes to have up to 1,000 hours of original programming content, which would represent a doubling of what it brought to its viewers this year. The service is aiming to have original content represent half of its offered content.
How much will this cost Netflix? Well, the company is looking to spent a tidy $6 billion on content in 2017, up roughly a billion from 2016. Presumably, this will include more in-house original series (i.e. shows that are both produced and distributed by Netflix). Stranger Things was Netflix's first original series to be produced in-house.
This is in contrast to something like Gilmore Girls, which was licensed from Warner Bros., or something like the upcoming Star Trek: Discovery, which Netflix has international distribution rights to (outside of the U.S. and Canada), but which will be produced and distributed domestically by CBS. It seems that, moving forward, Netflix will be looking to do both.
What's next?
What are some of the Netflix original series coming up next? A Series of Unfortunate Events will be premiering in January. Past that, we have Santa Clarita Diet (starring Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant) and Mind Hunter (from David Fincher) to look forward to. How does Netflix choose its content? "What we try to do is take very measured swings for the fences, if that’s possible," says Sarandos.
Is that baseball analogy a subtle hint that Netflix might be moving into the substansive live sports market? Nope. "Don't look for us to be bidding for league rights," Sarandos said, adding: "league creation might be interesting." And that is the difference between Netflix and pretty much every other mainstream media content company out there. While other companies work to succeed within the already established rules, Netflix creates its own rulebook.