So far Netflix, HBO and Hulu were operating in the streaming entertainment market. Disney, AT & T’s Warner Media and Apple propose to enter this market creating shows which cost as much as the big budget movies.

An episode of streaming entertainment costs $ 8 million-$15 million, thus surpassing the cost of an average TV show. There are additional marketing and miscellaneous expenses. Over many seasons, the total costs may cross $ 150 million, thus equalling the cost of putting a new Spiderman movie in theatrical circuit nationwide.

Initially, an episode of House of Cards (Netflix) used to cost in 2013 $ 4.5, and was considered expensive. These days an episode of Disney’s The Mandorian approaches $ 15 million. Amazon spends $250 million to buy the rights of Lord of the Rings series. There are massive star costs, cost of exotic film locations, state-of-the art special effects. Therefor, budgets shoot up.

In pre-streaming era, the actor salaries were the main cause of the rising costs of the TV shows. The ad revenues were utilised to cover the production costs. The return for a big budget streaming show is still intangible.