Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos has called on other streaming rivals to disclose their viewership figures.
At the Fast Company conference in Manhattan on Wednesday, Sarandos spoke about the backlash from striking writers and actors and the inability to get insights into viewership figures for his shows. Netflix is due to release viewership figures for its top shows on Thursday as part of its semi-annual data release.
“This is kind of a response to people who say, ‘I don’t know what’s going on with my film,’ and I’ll admit that’s unfair,” Sarandos said. “What it means is that the numbers are out there for talent and agents and the press to see and understand what are the hits and what are the misses.”
“I don’t think you can get any more transparent than that,” he added.
When pressed about the fact that, despite that statement, Netflix would not release subscriber numbers after 2025, Sarandos said that because Netflix now offers multiple tiers at different price points, subscriber numbers no longer directly correlate to revenue or profit figures, making the metric no longer meaningful. Netflix, which has 280 million subscribers, plans to continue providing subscriber numbers at specific milestones going forward.
In his streaming report due to be released on Thursday, Sarandos said 94 billion hours were watched on Netflix in the first half of the year, up from previous reports, and that “engagement is probably the core metric.” Still, he said he believes Netflix will double in size with the introduction of more live events and even live sports, such as NFL football games on Christmas Day.
He noted that Netflix is in 280 million homes worldwide, but even if that number doubled it would still be lower than pay-TV’s heyday, and said Netflix has a better product and model.
As for its main competitor for screen time, YouTube, Sarandos said the two companies have similar revenue, engagement and profit numbers, but YouTube has more advanced advertising capabilities and is less financially mandated and regulated because its content is mostly user-generated. While both companies account for 20 percent of screen time, Sarandos said they’re focused on capturing the remaining 80 percent.
When asked if he felt a responsibility to the broader community that opposes Netflix’s compensation model for creators and talent, Sarandos responded that Netflix and the community are “mutually dependent,” adding that while he believes there is a “romanticism” involved in clinging to the old film model, he thinks the new model is better because the streaming platform pays for the production of films, pays the talent, and negotiates their salaries up front as if the film or show will do well, shifting more of the risk to Netflix.
“My goal is for all of them to be rich and famous. We’re trying to give them the opportunity to do that. If they do their job really, really well, they will,” he said.