Sometimes the biggest gambles lead to the richest wins. Netflix's superb ascent from a humble DVD-by-mail service to a global streaming behemoth did not happen by accident. It took very risky and calculated decisions that broke with traditional corporate caution.
One of the most shocking examples of this came early in Netflix's mission for original content, when co-CEO Ted Sarandos committed $100 million (which is £74 million GBP approx) to produce the political drama House of Cards without first seeking approval from founder and executive chairman Reed Hastings. This daring decision changed the company's trajectory and set a template for how Netflix would compete with legacy Hollywood studios.
It is no news that House of Cards helped establish Netflix's reputation for original programming, but it was also only the beginning of a much larger increase in content spending. As the streaming wars got real and competitors like Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, and Apple TV+ expanded their content, Netflix increased its investment massively, funding a giant slate of films and series across genres and budgets.
Expensive Gamble on House of Cards Changed Netflix Forever
In a new interview, Sarandos looked back on a big moment in his career. Back when Netflix was still best known for mailing DVDs and licensing shows from other networks, Sarandos made the unilateral decision to greenlight two seasons of House of Cards, committing roughly $100 million (£74 million GBP) to the project without consulting Reed Hastings.
Moreover, Sarandos explained his thinking in straightforward terms, telling Hastings that it was a simple risk-versus-reward calculation. If the show failed, Netflix would have overpaid for a series that did not attract subscribers. But if it succeeded, it could transform the business. As it turned out, that very outcome came to pass.
House of Cards became one of Netflix's first major original hits, getting huge praise and tons of new subscribers who signed up specifically to watch the series. So, its success validated Netflix's mission of investing heavily in high-quality originals and helped change the industry's expectations of streaming platforms totally.
Furthermore, this risky decision also showed something about Netflix's leadership culture. Sarandos has said that Hastings taught him the value of trusting talented people and giving them the tools to do their best work.
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How Much Has Netflix Spent on Content?
Today, Netflix's content budget runs into the tens of billions of dollars, no exaggeration. According to industry reports, Netflix was expected to spend around $18 billion on shows, films, and other content in 2025, showing just how far spending has grown from the age of House of Cards.
Moreover, some of the most expensive projects that Netflix has funded in the past few years rival the budgets of Hollywood blockbusters. For feature films, titles such as The Electric State reportedly commanded budgets of around $320 million ( £236.8 million GBP approx) , making them among the most costly streaming films ever produced. Before The Electric State, Netflix's most expensive films included The Gray Man and Red Notice, each with reported budgets of approximately $200 million (£148 million GBP approx), along with Martin Scorsese's The Irishman at around $225 million (£166.5 million GBP approx).
Furthermore, on the television side, the spending has been equally shocking. According to industry analysis, The Crown stands out as one of Netflix's most expensive series ever made, with an estimated total spend of around $648 million (£479.5 million GBP approx) across its run. Finally, the current most famous show, Stranger Things, reports have said that the latest seasons of the show cost tens of millions of dollars per episode, with the final season nearing half-a-billion dollars (£370 million GBP approx) in total production costs.
