Twitter

Netflix is such a notoriously secretive company, not knowing how its original content is performing has basically become an industry joke. However, Variety’s recent interview with Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos goes a long way in shedding light on the streaming service’s successes and revealing its plans for the future. And Netflix’s future looks very bright.

Written by Ramin Setoodeh, the article is pegged to Sarandos being named Variety’s 2017 Showman of the Year, and the feature covers a lot of ground. From the expiring Disney deal to Netflix’s plans for its international content and reality TV, the article reads as a fascinating cheat sheet about Netflix’s plans. However, one of the most interesting takeaways from the feature comes early on. According to the interview, Sarandos expects Netflix to spend $7 billion on content next year.

That shockingly high number includes licensed and original content, but it’s still a jump from years past. Netflix spent $6 billion on content in 2017 and $5 billion in 2016. According to Sarandos, he suspects Netflix’s library is only a couple of years from having half licensed content and half original content. Recently, Netflix has been criticized for its impressive spending. Sarandos addressed this, saying that the streaming giant had one of the lowest debt levels in the industry.

He also revealed one of his biggest fears for the company:

“The more successful we get, the more anxious I get about the willingness of the networks to license their stuff to us,” he says.

The feature also revealed that Netflix has big plans for reality TV and international content. Though Netflix’s reality selection is currently limited, Variety reports that “Some 50 new programs, now in development, will start hitting the service early next year.” Also, we can expect an increase in international Netflix Originals. Currently, Netflix has 17 series that were filmed in foreign markets. “That’ll grow to 70 to 100 series in the next couple of years,” Sarandos said.

Sarandos also addressed some larger criticisms about the streaming service. In case you’re wondering, Sarandos doesn’t seem too worried about the Disney deal that’s set to expire in 2019. He’s also doesn’t seem too concerned about Disney’s announced streaming service:

“Everyone is doing some version of it already,” he says. “They just have to make a decision for their companies, their brands and their shareholders on how to best optimize the content.” Netflix, suggests Sarandos, has long been preparing for that inevitability. “We started making original content five years ago, betting this would happen,” he says.

Sarandos re-emphasized that the Netflix cancellations we’ve seen this year have more to do with Netflix having too much great content rather than a changing philosophy in the company:

“It wasn’t like we were setting out to cancel more shows,” Sarandos says. “It was the idea of saying, ‘Are you being risky enough?’ The bad thing about renewing a show that isn’t being watched, it creates opportunity cost. And a lot of opportunity lost for fans to find something they are going to love.”

Sarandos also took some time to discuss Netflix’s film strategy. According to internal numbers released by Sarandos, subscribers spend 70 percent of their time watching TV versus movies. However, the company wants to get to a place where it will be releasing four “must-see” movies a year. Sarandos is hopeful that the Will Smith-led Bright will kick off this trend.

Between the announcements that Shonda Rhimes, David Letterman, the Coen brothers, and the comic book empire Millarworld are all coming to Netflix, it’s been an exceptionally great couple of weeks for the streaming service. No one may know exactly what Netflix is up to, but one thing is for certain — they aren’t slowing down. You can read the full feature on Variety.