Netflix had $25.22 billion of content commitments at 30 September 2026
Content obligations are the clearest public measure of how much money Netflix has already promised to studios, producers, talent and rights holders. They are different from what Netflix spends in a year and from the value of the content it carries on its books. This page tracks the obligations total only: how big it is, how much of it is on the balance sheet, when it has to be paid and what the filings leave out. Annual cash spending on content is covered on the page on Netflix content spend, and the capitalized value of the library on the page on Netflix content assets.
Obligations (this page)
$25.22B
Payments Netflix is committed to make in future, at 30 September 2026. A forward looking figure.
Cash content payments
$17.71B
What Netflix actually paid for content in calendar 2025, from the cash flow statement.
Content assets
$34.61B
Net book value of licensed and produced content on the balance sheet at 30 September 2026.
What Netflix includes in content obligations, and what it does not
Netflix explains the term in the commitments note of each annual report. Content obligations "include amounts related to the acquisition, licensing and production of content." For licensed titles, an obligation arises when Netflix signs an agreement to obtain future titles. For its own productions, the obligation covers non-cancelable commitments under creative talent and employment agreements, so non-cancelable contracts with talent and staff on a Netflix production count as well as licenses bought from other studios.
The total is then split three ways. Current content liabilities are amounts already recognized on the balance sheet and payable within a year. Non-current content liabilities are recognized amounts payable later. The third part, obligations not reflected on the balance sheet, covers agreements that "did not yet meet the criteria for recognition", typically titles that have been agreed but not yet delivered or produced. The 10-K adds that some agreements oblige Netflix to license rights for unknown future titles; for those it includes only the known minimum amount.
- It is a commitment, not borrowing. Netflix lists content obligations next to debt and leases in its table of material cash requirements, but as a separate line, and much of it is not yet a recorded liability.
- It is not a spending forecast. New deals are added every quarter and paid amounts drop out, so the total can rise even while cash spending is flat.
- Production obligations are included. Commitments to talent and staff on Netflix productions are part of the total, not only third party licenses.
- Unknown titles are excluded. Future seasons or films under output deals are left out beyond the known minimum, and Netflix gives a separate estimate for them.
From $4.82 billion in 2011 to $24.04 billion in 2025
The chart shows total content obligations at the end of every year from 2011 to 2025, plus the latest quarter end. The figures are the totals of the expected timing tables in each Form 10-K, in which Netflix discloses the exact amount in thousands of dollars. The 2011 figure is the restated amount from the 2012 annual report, the first one to use the current method of presentation.
| Date | Total obligations | Change | Change (%) | Due within 1 year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | $4.82B | n/a | n/a | 35.5% |
| 2012 | $5.63B | +$0.81B | +16.8% | 40.8% |
| 2013 | $7.25B | +$1.62B | +28.7% | 41.0% |
| 2014 | $9.45B | +$2.20B | +30.3% | 39.7% |
| 2015 | $10.90B | +$1.45B | +15.4% | 43.1% |
| 2016 | $14.48B | +$3.58B | +32.8% | 42.8% |
| 2017 | $17.69B | +$3.21B | +22.2% | 42.1% |
| 2018 | $19.29B | +$1.60B | +9.0% | 44.7% |
| 2019 | $19.49B | +$0.20B | +1.1% | 43.5% |
| 2020 | $19.22B | -$0.27B | -1.4% | 46.7% |
| 2021 | $23.16B | +$3.94B | +20.5% | 43.3% |
| 2022 | $21.83B | -$1.33B | -5.7% | 46.0% |
| 2023 | $21.71B | -$0.12B | -0.5% | 47.6% |
| 2024 | $23.25B | +$1.54B | +7.1% | 49.1% |
| 2025 | $24.04B | +$0.79B | +3.4% | 48.0% |
| 30 Sep 2026 | $25.22B | +$1.18B | +4.9% (9 months) | 46.7% |
Download this table (CSV) · Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with credit to Business Stats
Source: Netflix Form 10-K filings, expected timing of content obligations, and Form 10-Q for the third quarter of 2026. Changes and shares are BusinessStats calculations from the exact figures in thousands.
Two numbers in the table stand out. The total has more than quadrupled since 2012, but its growth has slowed: it rose by an average of $2.41 billion a year between 2012 and 2017 and by about $0.8 billion a year between 2017 and 2025. The total has fallen in only three years: 2020 (down 1.4 percent), 2022 (down 5.7 percent) and 2023 (down 0.5 percent). For the revenue that funds these payments, see Netflix revenue statistics.
Four stages in the Netflix commitment book
2011 to 2017: the build out. Obligations rose from $4.82 billion to $17.69 billion. This was the period in which Netflix moved from a mostly licensed catalogue in a few countries to a service available in almost every country, with a growing slate of originals. The fastest single year was 2016, when the total rose by $3.58 billion, or 32.8 percent.
2018 to 2020: a plateau near $19 billion. The total was $19.29 billion at the end of 2018, $19.49 billion at the end of 2019 and $19.22 billion at the end of 2020. The mix changed underneath: the off balance sheet part rose from $10.8 billion to $12.2 billion while non-current content liabilities fell from $3.8 billion to $2.6 billion, a sign that more of the book was made up of agreements for titles not yet delivered.
2021 to 2023: a peak and a pause. The total jumped by $3.94 billion to $23.16 billion in 2021, almost all of it in the off balance sheet part, which went from $12.2 billion to $15.8 billion. It then slipped to $21.83 billion in 2022 and $21.71 billion in 2023, the first back to back declines in the series. The number of subscribers Netflix served over that period is tracked on the page on Netflix subscribers worldwide by quarter.
2024 to 2026: new highs. Obligations rose to $23.25 billion at the end of 2024, $24.04 billion at the end of 2025 and $25.22 billion at 30 September 2026. Over these years content liabilities on the balance sheet shrank, from $7.1 billion at the end of 2023 to $5.6 billion in September 2026, while the off balance sheet part grew from $14.6 billion to $19.6 billion.
Almost four fifths of the total is not yet a recorded liability
Netflix states in every annual report how the total divides between the balance sheet and the notes. The stacked bars use those figures, as rounded to $0.1 billion in the filings. They show the defining trend of the last decade: the recognized liabilities have stayed in a range of about $5.5 billion to $8.5 billion since 2016, while the part not yet on the balance sheet has more than doubled, from $8.0 billion in 2016 to $19.6 billion in September 2026. The by type history in more detail is on the page on Netflix content obligations by type.
As a share of the total, the off balance sheet part was 56.8 percent in 2012, 55.3 percent in 2016, 63.5 percent in 2020, 67.2 percent in 2023, 73.1 percent in 2024 and 76.5 percent in 2025, using the rounded components stated in each filing. Using the exact balance sheet amounts, it reached 77.8 percent, $19.61 billion of $25.22 billion, at 30 September 2026. The donut shows that split.
Why does this matter? A liability on the balance sheet relates to a title Netflix already has or is already making, so the related asset is on the books too. The off balance sheet part is the pipeline: films and series that have been bought or commissioned but have not reached the point of recognition. Its growth means Netflix is committing further ahead than it used to. How quickly recognized content is expensed once it is released is shown on the page on Netflix cost of revenues.
Nearly half of the obligations are due within twelve months
Netflix also discloses when it expects to pay its obligations, in four bands: less than one year, one to three years, three to five years and more than five years. The bands have changed less than the total. In every year since 2014, between 39.7 and 49.1 percent of the book has been due within a year, and the part due after five years has never been more than 4.5 percent of the total.
| Date | Under 1 year | 1 to 3 years | 3 to 5 years | Over 5 years | Over 5 years (% of total) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | $1.71B | $2.38B | $0.65B | $0.07B | 1.5% |
| 2013 | $2.97B | $3.27B | $0.93B | $0.08B | 1.1% |
| 2015 | $4.70B | $5.25B | $0.89B | $0.06B | 0.5% |
| 2017 | $7.45B | $8.21B | $1.89B | $0.14B | 0.8% |
| 2019 | $8.48B | $8.35B | $2.04B | $0.62B | 3.2% |
| 2021 | $10.02B | $9.24B | $3.24B | $0.66B | 2.9% |
| 2023 | $10.33B | $8.78B | $2.02B | $0.58B | 2.7% |
| 2024 | $11.42B | $8.11B | $2.81B | $0.90B | 3.9% |
| 2025 | $11.53B | $8.38B | $3.04B | $1.09B | 4.5% |
| 30 Sep 2026 | $11.78B | $9.90B | $3.03B | $0.52B | 2.1% |
Download this table (CSV) · Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with credit to Business Stats
Source: Netflix Form 10-K filings for fiscal years 2012 to 2025 and Form 10-Q for the third quarter of 2026. Percentages are BusinessStats calculations.
The one band that moved sharply in 2026 is the longest. Obligations due after five years reached $1.09 billion at the end of 2025, the highest in the series, then fell in each quarter of 2026, to $0.92 billion in March, $0.62 billion in June and $0.52 billion in September. Over the same nine months the one to three year band grew from $8.38 billion to $9.90 billion. Because the bands are measured from each reporting date, part of that shift is simply time passing: a payment due in five and a half years at the end of 2025 is due in under five years by September 2026.
A $3.10 billion jump in the last quarter of 2025
Quarterly filings show that obligations do not grow smoothly. After ending 2024 at $23.25 billion, the total fell in each of the first three quarters of 2025, to $20.94 billion at 30 September 2025, as payments ran ahead of new commitments. In the fourth quarter it jumped by $3.10 billion to $24.04 billion, and it has risen in each quarter of 2026 since.
| Quarter end | Total | Change on quarter | On balance sheet | Not on balance sheet |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 2024 | $23.25B | n/a | $6.2B | $17.0B |
| Mar 2025 | $21.79B | -$1.46B | $5.8B | $16.0B |
| Jun 2025 | $20.97B | -$0.82B | $5.7B | $15.3B |
| Sep 2025 | $20.94B | -$0.03B | $5.7B | $15.2B |
| Dec 2025 | $24.04B | +$3.10B | $5.7B | $18.4B |
| Mar 2026 | $24.14B | +$0.10B | $5.7B | $18.5B |
| Jun 2026 | $25.11B | +$0.97B | $5.5B | $19.6B |
| Sep 2026 | $25.22B | +$0.11B | $5.6B | $19.6B |
Download this table (CSV) · Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with credit to Business Stats
Source: Netflix Form 10-Q and 10-K filings. On balance sheet = current plus non-current content liabilities as stated in billions in each filing; March 2026 liabilities from the balance sheet ($4.05 billion current, $1.63 billion non-current).
The size of the fourth quarter move is unusual. Recognized liabilities were unchanged at about $5.7 billion, so the whole increase came from the part not yet on the balance sheet, which rose from $15.2 billion to $18.4 billion. In other words, new commitments for titles still to be delivered or made exceeded payments by about $3.1 billion in a single quarter. The filings do not say which agreements these were, and this page does not guess. The cost of individual Netflix productions, where public records exist, is covered on the page on the most expensive Netflix original series per episode.
The $1 billion to $4 billion that is not in the total
Some Netflix agreements commit it to titles that do not exist yet. The annual report gives two examples: "traditional film output deals, or certain TV series license agreements where the number of seasons to be aired is unknown." Under an output deal, a studio delivers its future films to Netflix on agreed terms, but neither side knows in advance how many films there will be or what they will cost. Netflix includes only the known minimum amount in its reported obligations and says the unknown obligations "are expected to be significant."
Netflix puts a number on them in its discussion of cash requirements. In both its 2023 and its 2025 Form 10-K it estimated that these unknown obligations could amount to about $1 billion to $4 billion over the next three years, with the vast majority of payments expected after the next twelve months. Adding that range to the $24.04 billion reported at the end of 2025 gives a broader commitment of about $25 billion to $28 billion, although the extra amount is an estimate by Netflix, not a contractual figure.
Content is the largest cash commitment Netflix discloses
Netflix lists its content obligations in the same table of material cash requirements as its debt and lease payments. At 31 December 2025 the table showed $24.04 billion of content obligations, $18.09 billion of debt obligations and $2.90 billion of operating lease obligations. Content made up 53 percent of the three items combined and accounted for $11.53 billion of the payments due in the next twelve months, against $1.69 billion for debt and $0.56 billion for leases.
| Obligation | Total | Next 12 months | Beyond 12 months |
|---|---|---|---|
| Content obligations | $24.04B | $11.53B | $12.51B |
| Debt | $18.09B | $1.69B | $16.40B |
| Operating lease obligations | $2.90B | $0.56B | $2.34B |
Download this table (CSV) · Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with credit to Business Stats
Source: Netflix Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025, material cash requirements table. Content obligations exclude unknown future titles.
The comparison also shows why content behaves differently from debt. Most of the debt is due beyond one year, while almost half of the content book is due within one year and is paid continuously as titles are delivered. Profit and cash generation that cover these payments are tracked on the page on Netflix net income.
Obligations equal about 16 months of cash content payments
One comparison puts the total in context. In 2025 Netflix paid $17.71 billion in cash for content, the additions to content assets plus the change in content liabilities in its cash flow statement, and recorded $16.42 billion of content amortization. The $24.04 billion of obligations at the end of 2025 was therefore equal to about 1.36 years of cash content payments, and the $11.53 billion due within one year covered about 65 percent of a year of payments. If spending in 2026 is similar, the rest has to come from agreements signed during the year. The full year by year spending series is on the page on Netflix content spend.
Claims changed or removed from the earlier version of this page
- 2024 total. The earlier page gave $23.7 billion. The 2025 Form 10-K reports $23.25 billion at 31 December 2024.
- The 2021 peak and the 2020 trough. The earlier page said obligations peaked at $23.4 billion in 2021 after falling to $16.9 billion in 2020. The filings show $23.16 billion at the end of 2021 and $19.22 billion at the end of 2020, almost level with $19.49 billion in 2019.
- Earlier years. The earlier figures for 2016 ($16.8 billion), 2017 ($20.0 billion) and 2018 ($20.1 billion) were too high; the filings give $14.48 billion, $17.69 billion and $19.29 billion. Figures for 2011 to 2015 were also wrong and have been replaced with the reported amounts.
- Payment timing. The earlier page said 40 to 42 percent of the 2024 total was due within a year and 15 to 20 percent after five years. The 2025 Form 10-K shows 49.1 percent ($11.42 billion) within a year and 3.9 percent ($0.90 billion) after five years.
- Estimates removed. The 2025 figure "derived" at $24.0 billion and a 2026 estimate of $25.0 billion are replaced by reported amounts: $24.04 billion at the end of 2025 and $25.22 billion at 30 September 2026. The 2010 figure of $1.8 billion, the year by year "key development" notes and the per subscriber ratios could not be traced to the filings and were removed.
- Originals. The earlier page said owned originals are kept out of obligations. The 10-K states that obligations include non-cancelable commitments for the production of content under creative talent and employment agreements.
How these figures were compiled
Year end totals and payment timing come from the commitments and contingencies note of the Netflix Form 10-K for each fiscal year from 2012 to 2025; each filing reports the current and the previous year, and the 2011 figure is the restated amount in the 2012 Form 10-K. Quarter end figures come from the Form 10-Q filings for the first three quarters of 2025 and 2026. Balance sheet amounts at 30 September 2026 were checked against the balance sheet in the third quarter 2026 letter to shareholders. Cash content payments and amortization come from the cash flow statement and content note of the 2025 Form 10-K. All filings were read on 6 November 2026.
Totals and timing bands are reported in thousands of dollars and are shown here in billions to two decimal places. The split between current liabilities, non-current liabilities and the off balance sheet part is stated in the narrative of each filing in billions to one decimal place, so the three parts can differ from the total by $0.1 billion because of rounding. Older filings call the measure streaming content obligations and recent filings call it content obligations; the filings disclose no change in what it covers. Shares, changes, growth rates and the 1.36x ratio are BusinessStats calculations. The obligations exclude unknown future titles, for which only the Netflix estimate of $1 billion to $4 billion is quoted. Other company financials referred to on this page are covered on the Netflix topic overview.
Netflix content obligations in eight numbers
Questions about Netflix content obligations
They are the amounts Netflix has committed to pay for content under agreements it has already signed. The 10-K says they include amounts for the acquisition, licensing and production of content, including non-cancelable commitments under creative talent and employment agreements. Part of the total is already recorded as current and non-current content liabilities; the rest is not yet on the balance sheet because it does not yet meet the criteria for recognition.
At 30 September 2026 Netflix reported total content obligations of $25.22 billion, above every year end total Netflix has reported. It was made up of $3.9 billion of current content liabilities, $1.7 billion of non-current content liabilities and $19.6 billion of obligations not reflected on the balance sheet (Form 10-Q for the third quarter of 2026).
At 31 December 2025 Netflix had $24.04 billion of content obligations: $4.1 billion in current content liabilities, $1.6 billion in non-current content liabilities and $18.4 billion not reflected on the balance sheet. A year earlier, at 31 December 2024, the total was $23.25 billion.
Netflix records a content liability only when an agreement meets the accounting criteria for recognition. Commitments for titles that have been agreed but not yet delivered or produced stay off the balance sheet and are disclosed in the notes instead. That off balance sheet part was $19.6 billion, or 77.8 percent of the total, at 30 September 2026, against 57 percent at the end of 2012.
At 30 September 2026, $11.78 billion of content obligations were due in less than one year, 46.7 percent of the total. A further $9.90 billion was due in one to three years, $3.03 billion in three to five years and $0.52 billion after five years.
Yes. Some agreements, such as traditional film output deals or series licenses where the number of seasons is unknown, oblige Netflix to license future titles that are not yet known. Netflix includes only the known minimum amount in its total and estimates the unknown obligations at about $1 billion to $4 billion over the next three years, mostly payable after the next twelve months (2025 Form 10-K).
Netflix paid $17.71 billion in cash for content in 2025 and recorded $16.42 billion of content amortization. The $24.04 billion of obligations at the end of 2025 was therefore equal to about 1.36 years of 2025 cash content payments, and the $11.53 billion due within one year equalled about 65 percent of a year of payments.
They have grown about five times, from $4.82 billion at the end of 2011 to $24.04 billion at the end of 2025, a compound rate of 12.2 percent a year. The total tripled between 2012 and 2017, stayed close to $19 billion to $19.5 billion from 2018 to 2020, reached $23.16 billion in 2021, eased to about $21.7 billion in 2022 and 2023 and has risen in every reported quarter since September 2025.
Total obligations rose by $3.10 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025, from $20.94 billion at 30 September 2025 to $24.04 billion at 31 December 2025, and nearly all of the increase was in the off balance sheet part, which went from $15.2 billion to $18.4 billion. That means Netflix signed new agreements for content still to come. The filings do not attribute the increase to particular deals.
Netflix, Inc.: Form 10-Q for the quarter ended 30 September 2026 (content obligations, balance sheet split and expected timing).
Netflix, Inc.: Q3 2026 letter to shareholders, 20 October 2026 (balance sheet content liabilities, total content obligations).
Netflix, Inc.: Form 10-Q for the quarter ended 30 June 2026.
Netflix, Inc.: Form 10-Q for the quarter ended 31 March 2026.
Netflix, Inc.: Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025 (obligations at 31 December 2025 and 2024, timing, unknown future titles, material cash requirements, cash flows).
Netflix, Inc.: Form 10-Q for the quarter ended 30 September 2025.
Netflix, Inc.: Form 10-Q for the quarter ended 30 June 2025.
Netflix, Inc.: Form 10-Q for the quarter ended 31 March 2025.
Netflix, Inc.: Form 10-K for fiscal year 2023 (obligations at 31 December 2023 and 2022, unknown future titles estimate).
Netflix, Inc.: Form 10-K for fiscal year 2021 (obligations at 31 December 2021 and 2020).
Netflix, Inc.: Form 10-K for fiscal year 2019 (obligations at 31 December 2019 and 2018).
Netflix, Inc.: Form 10-K for fiscal year 2017 (obligations at 31 December 2017 and 2016).
Netflix, Inc.: Form 10-K for fiscal year 2015 (obligations at 31 December 2015 and 2014).
Netflix, Inc.: Form 10-K for fiscal year 2013 (obligations at 31 December 2013 and 2012).
Netflix, Inc.: Form 10-K for fiscal year 2012 (obligations at 31 December 2012 and restated 31 December 2011).