When It Comes to Netflix’s $8 Billion Budget, Showtime Says Bigger Isn’t Necessarily Better

Premium network won’t outspend rivals but says it can still thrive in Peak TV era

Just five years after launching House of Cards, Netflix has turned into the Big Bad Wolf in the eyes of many networks, intent on steamrolling everything in sight with an original programming budget of up to $8 billion this year.

But Showtime Networks president and CEO David Nevins said his company has what it takes to hold its own with the streaming service and other premium competitors—what he called “our deep-pocketed friends invading from the North”— and when it comes to programming budgets, bigger isn’t necessarily better.

“As

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