HBO to Chase Netflix in Global Content Race

03.08.2016

HBO plans to increase the amount of content it's producing - and money it's spending on that content - by 50% this year, upping its global original series hours to around 600, CEO Jeff Bewkes said during a Deutsche Bank conference on Tuesday.

Netflix has said that it plans to spend upwards of $6 billion on content and offer more than 600 hours of original content this year alone, creating a sort of content arms race as services try to outspend each other in the fight to acquire subscribers.

HBO's current content budget is just under $2 billion, with half of that dedicated to original content. New content is on the docket from such producers as Jon Stewart (formerly of The Daily Show), Bill Simmons (formerly of ESPN), Vice and the Children's Television Workshop's Sesame Street. HBO also is home to global hit, Game of Thrones, returning to the network April 24.

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'Game of Thrones' Reminds Us: All Men Must Die Most of those producers are creating multi-platform content. Some of it will air on HBO, the television network, while other content will be developed specifically HBO's streaming service, HBO Now, or for its digital platforms. Simmons, for example, is launching a new website, The Ringer, that will take off where his ESPN-funded Grantland left off and already has debuted a robust podcast network.

Both services operate globally, with Netflix in 130 territories around the world. HBO last month said it would be offering HBO Now in Spain. The premium content provider also offers versions of its network and digital platforms in Asia, Latin America and Europe.

Brief Take: Netflix and HBO alone are pouring at least $7 billion into original content. How that will affect the overall production marketplace is an interesting question.