Netflix content spending in 2020 will top $17 billion - report

Netflix has no plans to be outspent as the streaming wars get more intense.

A new forecast from BMO Capital Markets estimates the company will lay out $17.3 billion in cash for original content this year, a $2 billion increase from 2019. By 2028, the analyst firm predicts, Netflix will spend $26 billion per year on content.

The estimate comes as competition continues to heat up. Analysts are hoping to get updated subscriber numbers for Disney+ and Apple TV+ as those companies prepare to announce fourth quarter results. (Netflix will announce its Q4 earnings on Jan. 21.)

[Read: Meet the women leading Netflix into the streaming wars]

Netflix is spending considerably more on original content than its rivals, in part because companies like Disney, NBC and HBO have deep catalogs of content they can pull from to enrich their services. Some of those shows and films, like Friends and the Pixar collection, have been perennial hits for Netflix in previous years.

It’s a continued escalation in spending for Netflix. Just two years ago, the company spent just $13 billion creating original content. The money, though, is attracting big names in Hollywood, including Game of Thrones‘ David Benioff and Dan Weiss, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ryan Murphy and Shonda Rhimes. Barack and Michelle Obama are also producing a documentary for the network about a camp for disabled youth in the 1970s.