The world’s largest entertainment companies are investing huge sums to create TV shows, movies, and other content. For the first time ever, six major companies – Disney, Comcast, Google, Warner Bros. Discovery, Netflix, and Paramount – will control over half of global content spending for 2024. Together they will invest around $126 billion to create and buy entertainment.
Disney remains the biggest spender, allocating $35.8 billion for content, which is over 14% of the worldwide market. Disney recently gained full control of Hulu from Comcast. Other top spenders include Comcast at $24.5 billion, Google at $17.6 billion, Warner Bros. Discovery at $16.8 billion, Netflix at $16 billion, and Paramount at $15.1 billion.
One change from past years is Netflix is projected to pass Paramount as the fifth largest spender. Netflix is investing aggressively in original shows, movies, and sports like NFL games. Since the pandemic began, Netflix has spent an average of $14.5 billion per year on creating and buying new content.
Companies are also directing more spending outside the United States. Netflix plans to use 52% of its budget for international content, while Paramount+ will devote 40% to content made outside North America. “As competition grows, companies want programming that appeals globally,” said Peter Ingram of Ampere Analysis.
Overall growth in content spending is expected to slow as companies focus on profits in today’s challenging market. Companies may trim costs by reducing the number of new projects and being more selective about where they spend. One-third of the projected $126 billion will go toward subscription streaming services as more consumers switch to online viewing.
