The year 2020 so far seems intent to bombard us all with one reason after another to do nothing but stay inside and watch TV. Or at least, that’s probably what the corporate bigwigs at Netflix have been thinking, since the already monolithic streaming platform has – as of June 21st – added 332 original shows and movies in 2020 alone. Meanwhile, the service continues to vigorously amass non-original content with no sign of stopping anytime soon.
This may be a sign of Netflix feeling pressure from competing platforms, as the launch of Disney+ last November saw them lose some of the Mouse House’s biggest draws, not to mention the more recently established HBO Max and its own impressive catalog of alluring titles. Alternatively, Netflix may also simply be reinvesting in itself as it continues to grow. What seems at first glance like an overabundance of new original content may just be a calculated decision to organically expand the service’s reach regardless of competing platforms.
The fact that Netflix doesn’t actually provide funding for many of these originals is also worth noting. They apply the moniker to any content which is exclusively available stateside through them at the time of release, including localized foreign features created without their involvement. Although we have no insight into how much the streaming giant pays for the licenses to these already completed productions, it seems safe to assume that the cost would be much less than the budget of even a rather cheap show or film.
Regardless of the motivation behind Netflix‘s unprecedented abundance of new media, subscribers can all rest easy knowing that the odds of that one show they like getting a new season are looking better than ever before.