Eight years ago Netflix said it was on the cusp of a “defining moment”: having stocked its library with films and television series first seen elsewhere, the streaming platform had invested a mooted $100 million in its first original production (Callum Jones writes). What is more, it was preparing to buck convention and release every episode of House of Cards at once.
Tired of spending heavily on other studios’ content, Netflix invested even more heavily to develop its own. Many hundreds of original films and shows have followed, with myriad hits and forgettable misses.
It has burnt through cash to build up this vast catalogue of exclusive titles, borrowing more than $16 billion. But after a rollercoaster year carried its audience of paying subscribers above
