Ted Sarandos, co-CEO of Netflix, says that “part of the reason the streamer has long been tight-lipped about viewership numbers – even when it comes to disclosing numbers to those who make the TV shows and movies for the Produce platform – where the talent lies.” own concerns about feeling “pretty trapped” by ratings and box office results.
“When we started making original programming, our creators felt like they were pretty trapped in this world of overnight and weekend box office ratings that defined their successes and failures,” Sarandos said during a recorded analyst interview that aired below Netflix’s third-quarter financial results report went live on Wednesday. “And as we all know, if a show didn’t hold onto the opening box office, it could go on to be hugely successful. So part of it was the relationship with talent, not just the business aspects. And I think that as time goes on, people become much more interested in it. We are on the continuum today: How much data do we publish? I think we’ve taken the lead in getting everyone on the path to the top 10 by publishing our top 10 list and our annual final list and doing everything we can to bring a lot of transparency to the consideration. And I just expect it to become more and more transparent.”
Sarandos’ comments come amid the ongoing actors’ strike, in which a key sticking point between SAG-AFTRA and Hollywood studios has been increased streaming viewership transparency, and just weeks after the five-month writers’ strike ended on September 24, among other issues from the Writers Guild of America’s requirement to share streaming data with creators.
During Wednesday’s interview, Sarandos — who was in the room along with a handful of other top Hollywood CEOs to oversee final negotiations between WGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers — reiterated Netflix’s commitment to striking a deal with SAG-AFTRA as well , although talks between the actors and studios recently broke down.
“We want nothing more than to solve the problem and get everyone back to work,” Sarandos said. “This applies to Netflix. This applies to every member of the AMPTP. That’s why our member CEOs have prioritized these negotiations over everything else we do. We have spent many hours with SAG-AFTRA over the last few weeks and were actually very optimistic that we would make progress. But then, at the very end of our last meeting together, the Guild introduced this new requirement that, on top of everything, required a fee per subscriber that had nothing to do with viewing or success, and unfortunately that really broke our momentum. But you should know that we are committed to ending the strike with all our might. The industry, our communities and the economy are all doing badly. “That’s why we need to conclude a deal as quickly as possible that respects all sides.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Sarandos discussed the importance of third-party content on Netflix given the immense popularity that USA Network drama “Suits” experienced on the platform over the summer. The co-CEO noted that licensing third-party content has always been “part of our strategy,” and he expects that with the launch of titles like “Six Feet Under” and HBO’s “True Blood,” more and more content will become available “to move directly into the center of the culture”. to Netflix.