Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos Calls on Competitors to Release Viewership Numbers

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Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos Calls on Competitors to Release Viewership Numbers

As a devoted fan of the streaming era, I find myself deeply intrigued by the words of Ted Sarandos, the visionary co-CEO of Netflix. His recent speech at the Fast Company conference in Manhattan has ignited a spark of excitement within me, as he sheds light on the inner workings of one of my favorite platforms.

Netflix’s co-CEO, Ted Sarandos, is urging rival streaming platforms to disclose their audience statistics.

During a Fast Company conference in Manhattan on Wednesday, Sarandos addressed some concerns raised by writers and actors during the strikes, particularly the lack of access they had to viewership statistics for their series. Netflix plans to disclose viewership figures for its top shows tomorrow as part of its semi-annual data release.

As a gamer, I totally understand those who were wondering about their performance stats. Frankly, it wasn’t fair not to have them visible. That’s why I’m all for this new concept – making the numbers transparent. This way, both talent and agents can see their progress, as well as the press, so they can determine what’s a winning game and what’s not.

He added: “I don’t think we could be any more transparent than this.” 

Starting from 2025, Netflix will cease sharing their subscriber count, according to Sarandos. This is because the company now offers various subscription tiers with varying prices, making it less straightforward to link subscriber numbers directly to revenue and profit figures. However, they will still disclose subscriber numbers at specific milestones. With a current subscriber base of 280 million, Netflix continues to grow and adapt its reporting methods.

In a forthcoming streaming report set for release on Thursday, Netflix’s CEO, Sarandos, revealed that viewers watched an impressive 94 billion hours of content during the first half of the year – a significant increase from previous reports. He emphasized that “engagement” is a crucial aspect of their success. Despite this achievement, Sarandos expressed confidence that Netflix can still double in size. This growth is anticipated due to the introduction of more live events and the addition of live sports, with the NFL football games on Christmas Day being a notable example.

He noted that while Netflix is in 280 million households around the world, if that number were doubled it would still be lower than numbers for paid television in its heyday, and that Netflix has a better product and model than that. 

From my gaming perspective, Netflix’s main rival for your attention, YouTube, seems to share similar revenue, user engagement, and profit figures with us. However, they have a leg up in terms of advertising, as their platform is more advanced in this area and primarily hosts user-generated content. This means less financial burdens and regulatory issues for them. Together, we both account for about 20% of your screen time, but Netflix’s focus is on exploring and dominating the remaining 80%.

Inquired about his sense of obligation towards the wider community criticizing Netflix’s approach to compensating creatives and actors, Sarandos stated that Netflix and the community are interconnected, relying on each other. He further commented that there seems to be a certain nostalgia in holding onto the traditional movie system, but he is convinced that the modern approach offers advantages, as it transfers more risk onto Netflix, meaning they finance the production of films, pay talent, and negotiate their salaries based on the assumption that the film or series will do well.

His aim is for everyone to become wealthy and renowned. We’re striving to offer them chances to achieve this, and if they perform exceptionally well, it will indeed come to pass.

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2024-09-18 18:27