Netflix Content Spend Accelerates, As Do Savings From AI, Ted Sarandos Says Streamer Has Used It In 300 Productions
Deadline
Published: Jul 17, 2026, 07:40 AM GMT+9
Sentiment Analysis
Netflix anticipates content spending will be up around 10% in 2026, accelerating from 8% increases over the last five years but below the 14% the company averaged over the past decade. Live content will be about 5% of total.
The higher outlay comes even as generative AI lowers costs, allowing the streamer to make “higher quality output more quickly and efficiently,” said co-CEO Ted Sarandos in a video call after quarterly earnings.
He said Gen AI workflows have been used in roughly 300 Netflix titles, concentrated in post-production.
“We’re leveraging Gen AI for really complicated shots and sequences … enhancing crowds, or historical battle scenes, those kind of things. And keep in mind that that in many of the cases productions would have left out those key shots because they just wouldn’t have been able to afford them. So they’re saved by availability and access to these Gen AI tools.”
Source: Deadline
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