• Netflix agrees Pinewood leasing deal
  • Streaming service looking to expand UK content
  • Reportedly eyeing UK production company acquisition targets

netflix credit shutterstock

Netflix is set to sign a deal that will see it use Pinewood Studios to produce more content in the UK.

A report in the Sunday Telegraph claims that the streaming giant is on the verge of taking 150,000 square foot of space at Pinewood as part of a ten-year agreement.

The deal will cost Netflix around £6 million per year.

The UK has been a significant market for the streaming giant, with the company’s London office having grown from 15 staff to over 100 in the last few years.

It has over 150 million global subscribers and an estimated 10 million-strong audience in the UK.

Netflix made around 40 productions and co-productions in the UK last year, with some, such as The Crown, seeing significant success.

It’s footprint of British shows is set to top 50 this year, including the Cambridge Analytica docudrama The Great Hack.

The company’s expansion in the UK could also see it acquire a British production company, according to chief content officer Ted Sarandos.

In an interview with London’s Evening Standard, Sarandos said Netflix is looking to “physically” embed itself in the UK, existing alongside the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 by producing more content.

It comes as the BBC and ITV confirmed rumours that they will launch a new streaming service in the UK aimed at rivalling Netflix and Amazon Prime.

Sarandos added: “It supports and strengthens their legacy: they can produce on a larger scale.

“Watching British programming has mostly been niche in the US. Now it’s mainstream, with co-productions like Bodyguard or After Life.”

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