The 6 Countries in Which Netflix Invests the Most With its Local Productions

There is no doubt that Netflix started out as the giant in streaming platforms. Although it is currently not the only one, it is still the most popular, with around 220 million subscribers globally and with a presence in 78 countries, according to data released by Mapped in February of this year.

Behind the success of Netflix

But how has Netflix managed to stay current in the midst of the birth and success of platforms such as Amazon Prime Video, HBO, Disney+ or Paramount? From local productions. This has been the spearhead of the platform that recently announced an investment of 2,500 million US dollars in South Korean production for the next four years, this after the success of the series "The Squid Game".

Netflix has been in charge in the last 3 years of establishing this strategy as the driving force behind its service, a strategy that was clear when in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the platform released more than 50 original productions that were produced in different countries that are not United States, the largest with respect to audiovisual productions. These became international hits, and behind the scenes they were characterized by two things: speed and lower production cost.

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According to data presented by Statista, in 2021, Netflix invested 17.7 billion US dollars in content, a number that decreased in 2022 with 16.84 billion. Of this total, the platform invests 85% in original content from different parts of the world. The speed and low cost combined with the presence of several of its titles (the vast majority American) nominated and winners at awards such as the Oscars or the Emmys have given the platform the validity to continue being number one globally.

Let's see which countries Netflix invests the most in its local productions.

1. United States

First, we have the United States. This is the country in which Netflix invests the most and also the one with the most watched series globally: “Stranger Things”, “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” and “The Witcher”. The production cost of these series per season is between 20 and 30 million dollars. It also has other equally expensive series that are not in the top 10 most watched, but have reached a very large audience, such as "Wednesday", "Sense8" or "House of cards". It is estimated that Netflix invests around 8.5 billion dollars in American original content.

2. United Kingdom

It is estimated that since 2020, Netflix has invested around $6 billion in British content. "The Crown" and "Bridgerton" are two of the most expensive series the platform has ever produced. Initially, it was budgeted that 4 billion dollars would be invested, but with the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic, this budget increased by 2 billion more.

3. South Korea

As we already mentioned, Netflix announced an investment of 2,500 million dollars for South Korean productions in the next four years. This positions the country as the third in which Netflix invests the most for local productions. In addition, "The Squid Game" is currently the most watched series in the history of Netflix. This responds to the popularity of South Korean culture, a phenomenon that we have seen grow in the last 5 years.

4. Spain

The European country leads the production of content in Spanish with around 400 million dollars invested in the last three years, a number that grew significantly thanks to productions such as "La casa de papel", "Vis a Vis" and "Elite". In addition, the first one achieved such an impact that there is even a Korean version.

5. Mexico

In the last three years, the Streaming platform has invested around 300 million dollars in 50 original productions from Mexico. The Latin American country occupies this place due to its proximity to the United States and the low costs of the audiovisual market.

6. Colombia

In fifth place, we find Colombia, with 175 million dollars invested since 2014. This allowed the streaming platform to open an office in the country's capital, Bogotá, in 2021. Today, there are more than 25 original productions of the country on Netflix.