Netflix to spend more £400 million on British movies and TV shows this year

Netflix has confirmed that it will be spending £400 million on new British-based TV and movie projects this year.

Reed Hastings, the streaming platform's chief executive, told the Royal Television Society conference that the UK is second only to the US in terms of its production budget, according to The Guardian.

Netflix announced over the summer that it had also struck a 10-year deal to take over almost all of the famous Shepperton Studios, including its 14 sound stages, from next month.

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Netflix made more than 40 productions in the UK last year, from its continuing royal drama The Crown and Charlie Brooker's Black Mirror to comedy drama series Sex Education.

It will make 50 more UK films and TV series over the next year.

The studio will spend a staggering $15 billion globally making new content over the next year, as it faces increasing competition in the marketplace.

Disney will be removing its content from Netflix in order to launch its own streaming platform, Disney+, in November, featuring the new Star Wars series The Mandalorian and a host of Marvel spin-off shows too.

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But that's far from the only competition Netflix will face, as the streaming world begins a new phase of massive growth.

Aside from the likes of existing platforms like Now TV and Amazon, Apple is also launching its Apple TV+ next month too.

There will also be HBO Max, which will feature Warner Bros content, as well as HBO shows, along with Friends and The Big Bang Theory.

Another new service from NBCUniversal, to be called Peacock, was also announced this week.