Big media companies spent $210 billion on content in 2024, Led by Comcast, YouTube and Disney

The industry’s 12 biggest media and entertainment companies set another new content-spending record in 2024, paying out around $210 billion, up 4% on the year, according to an analysis by KPMG.

Comcast/NBCUniversal held the No. 1 spot on KPMG’s ranking of 2024 content spending among the biggest players, with an outlay of $37 billion (flat with 2023). That’s followed by YouTube ($32 billion), Disney ($28), Amazon ($20 billion) and Netflix ($17 billion).

From 2020 to 2024, KPMG estimates that content spending among the cohort has climbed at a 10% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), fueled by traditional media companies investing in their own direct-to-consumer streaming services like Disney+, NBCU’s Peacock, Warner Bros. Discovery’s HBO Max and Paramount+.

But according to KPMG’s analysis, the biz hasn’t hit its content-spending ceiling yet. “While some argue that ‘peak content’ has been reached, we believe the industry is far from saturation — although the reality is more nuanced,” the firm says in the report, “Money in Motion: The Future of Content Spend and Business Models in Media,” released Tuesday. “Content spend is not growing uniformly across formats and genres.” For example, investments in sports rights have continued to rise, while investments in other areas like scripted and reality programming have slowed.

“It’s not just about ‘more content’ now. We’re seeing more deliberate investment,” said Scott Purdy, media strategy leader for KPMG U.S. “Leaders are using their learnings from the past few years and the increasing power of data-driven insights to prioritize their bets, shape creative decisions, and drive better returns.”

In particular, the shift toward user-generated content and ad-supported models and the ongoing growth of free, ad-supported streaming services (such as Paramount’s Pluto TV and Fox’s Tubi) are poised to drive further content expansion, per the report.

The growth of UGC has outpaced other segments and “will likely see continued expansion, fueled by increased ad dollars and a robust creator economy,” the KPMG report says.

KPMG’s report also addresses the “evolving” impact of AI. Artificial intelligence will make certain elements of the production process likely both faster and cheaper over time, and in the near term “AI will augment the production process, rather than take it over,” according to the firm.

“AI is rewriting the content playbook — creation, personalization, distribution, monetization,” said Frank Albarella, KPMG’s U.S. sector leader, media and telecommunications. “Media leaders thoughtfully and strategically experimenting with AI today are building tomorrow’s competitive advantage.”

For the report, KPMG compiled data from primary and secondary sources between April-August 2025. The firm’s content-spending estimates are based on a select group of “large, publicly traded media companies” with financial data spanning 2020-24.

Source: Variety