Media groups are set to spend more than $140bn on added content in 2022 despite overwhelming, eye-watering losses across the top eight US media groups, according to investment banks, analysts and number-crunchers at the Financial Times.

The numbers surely downgrade the sports streaming giant DAZN’s recent announcement of $1.3bn losses from ‘eye-watering’ to more of a nervous monocle-quiver.

Even its billionaire backer Len Blavatnik’s $4.3 billion cash injection aimed at fuelling expansion into recreational betting, gaming and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) is more mindful, less boggling.

According to the FT forecasts Netflix will spend more than $17bn on content this year and the leading streaming service is claiming it will break even and become free cashflow positive in 2022.

Disney is set to spend $23bn on entertainment and an extra $10bn on sports rights, such is the feverish, bellicose heat of the 2022 streaming media thermometer.

So what does it all mean to the consumer – will the audience experience become more seamless, or will our paid-for media offerings further fragment audience consumption habits?