The rising costs of streaming TV shows
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With Netflix under the spotlight amid fears of falling subscribers and revenue, its tentpole smash hit series Stranger Things is about to return for a fourth season, but at an eye-watering cost
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PRODUCTION COSTS PER EPISODE OF HIT STREAMING SHOWS 

Friends (Season 10, $10m*
2004, HBO/Netflix)

The Crown  $13m 
(2016-2020, Netflix)

The Morning Show $15m
(2019-2021, Apple TV+)

Game of Thrones $15m 
(Season 8, 2019, HBO)

The Mandalorian $15m
(2019-2020, Disney+)

The Pacific $20m*
(2010, HBO)

WandaVision† (2021, Disney+) $25m

Obi-Wan Kenobi $25m
(2022, Disney+)

Stranger Things  $30m
(Season 4, 2022, Netflix)

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Season 1, 2022, Amazon) $58m

Nine episodes air in two volumes, May 27 and Jul 1, 2022

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Amazon, with deeper pockets than Neflix, can afford to throw outrageous sums of money at lavish projects

Eight episodes begin streaming Sep 2, 2022
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*$10m = $15m today; $20m = $26m (CPI inflation calculator). †And most other Marvel Disney+ shows Note: “Friends” was made for television by NBC, but streams on HBO in U.S. and Netflix in most other territories. Sources: Screen Rant, MovieWeb, Polygon Pictures: Netflix, Amazon © GRAPHIC NEWS