US online video streaming service provider Netflix Inc plans to raise up to $1 billion in new capital to fund new shows in order to meet the growing demand for new content amid the ongoing stay-at-home orders and lockdowns around the world. The company stated on Wednesday that it will likely acquire the funds by taking out additional debt.

The announcement comes just a day after the company doubled its projections for the number of new customers it will be acquiring given the current situation. Shares of the company had dipped by 3 percent to $420 per share in the morning prior to its announcement. Its shares tumbled after it had forecasted a weaker second-half performance after the lifting of the current restrictions and shelter-in-place orders.

While the majority of the funds it plans to acquire will be used to produce new content, part of the money will reportedly also be utilized to acquire new assets. The move is meant to position the company as a major US production studio and to seemingly take advantage of the nationwide halting of productions and delays in film releases due to the pandemic.

Netflix chief content officer, Ted Sarandos, mentioned in a statement on Tuesday that most of the programming for the rest of the year and for 2021 have already been filmed. Post-production for the movies and television series are now being done remotely. Sarandos added that the company is currently working on more than 200 projects.

For the first quarter of the year, Netflix had several home-run shows that managed to elevate its popularity. These included original movies such as Spencer Confidential and original documentaries such as the now-famous Tiger King.

Last year, Netflix spent an estimated $15 billion in creating new content for its platform. According to BMO Capital Markets, that budget could balloon to more than $17 billion this year.

Acquiring the additional funding will allow Netflix to leverage its position to gain a larger market share amid the growing competition. What was once Netflix's domain is slowly becoming crowded with new players such as Walt Disney Co's Disney Plus streaming service.

The threat imposed by the newcomers has forced Netflix, who now has more than 183 million global subscribers, to accelerate its plans of expanding its content and growing its business overseas. Analysts have pointed out that Netflix actually doesn't have that much to fear from newcomers being rolled out by companies such as HBO, Apple, and Disney. The introduction of these new players will likely have a very minimal long-term impact on Netflix's retention and subscriber base.