Netflix’s chief executive said the streaming video service plans to continue funneling subscription revenue into original programming despite a rapidly shifting media market.
Reed Hastings told reporters in Los Angeles on Tuesday that the company expects to take in about $15 billion in subscriber revenue in 2018, according to Nikkei Asian Review. Netflix previously estimated it would spend up to a record $8 billion on content this year.
“Every show, we ask ourselves did we spend the customer’s money well,” Hastings said.
Hastings also addressed recent moves by competitors, including Disney — which will acquire most of rival 21st Century Fox — and Amazon, which is increasingly focused on live sports.
He said Netflix would “never, never, never” focus on live sports simply to follow a competitor and that the Disney-Fox tie-up doesn’t present a direct threat to the company’s service. Disney is planning to launch two streaming services focused on sports and entertainment.
“The threat is, probably, that we just slack off,” Hastings told Nikkei.