Netflix chief: $125M for The Crown? That’s a bargain

With Apple, Disney, and NBC all about to enter the streaming service wars, rising costs of producing content will make the reported £100 million ($125 million) Netflix spends producing The Crown “look like a bargain,” Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said at the RTS television industry conference in Britain this week, Reuters reported. “It’s a whole new world starting in November,” Hastings said at the conference, according to Reuters. The increasingly crowded streaming field will lead rival platforms to compete for the best content and talent, he added. The success of The Crown — which won lead actress Claire Foy an Emmy last year for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth — has prompted Netflix to invest more in British TV production, Reuters reported. “The possibilities the internet brings for growing entertainment is phenomenal, and over the next several years, with all of the expansion, I think we are going to see a very large increase in how much content is produced here in the UK,” Hastings said at the conference. “This year we spent a little over 400 million pounds in the UK and that’s continuing to grow, following our subscriber base.” Netflix is projecting “a big increase” in spending next year as well, he said. The Crown will return for its third season on Netflix on Nov. 17, with Olivia Coleman playing Queen Elizabeth II. Netflix did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Now playing: Watch this: 10 best free movie and TV streaming services 2:38 Top stories…