Shira Ovide, Columnist

Netflix's Money Pit Is on Fire

The cash burn could forge a media titan or incinerate the company.
Photographer: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images
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I'm going to quiz you on two companies. One of them makes complex automobiles. The other makes Adam Sandler movies. Which one would you guess is bleeding more cash in pursuit of its mission?

Pencils down. The answer is Adam Sandler's patron, Netflix Inc. It had negative free cash flow of $2.1 billion in the 12 months ended June 30 and is on the hook to pay more than $13 billion in the next three years for its entertainment programming.1500321539733 Netflix's Bay Area neighbor, the notorious cash bonfire Tesla, had negative $1.6 billion of free cash flow in the year ended March 31, according to Bloomberg data.