Netflix CEO Sizes Up Streaming Competition, and He’s Not Concerned
By Movieguide® Contributor
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sardanos explained where he sees Netflix heading in the future and why he isn’t concerned about other streamers catching up despite their heated competition.
Netflix has undergone multiple evolutions to become the steaming juggernaut it is today. But despite dozens of streaming services now on the market, Sarandos is confident his company will continue to remain at the top. While he respects his competitors, he believes they approach the space from a direction that can never catch up to Netflix. Disney, for example, might have a lead in children’s entertainment but, as Sarandos points out, that’s the only place they might have an advantage.
“I felt a lot more comfortable that we would do better at this than [Disney] would. Our advantage is the investment we’ve made in personalization,” Sarandos told Variety. “We are not a one-genre label. If you love documentary, Netflix is the doc house. If you love drama, it’s the drama house. As long as we have the ability to do that, we’re going to be fine.”
As for Apple, he does not see the company as being a major player in the entertainment space as their business is centered around tech, not producing content.
“I don’t understand [Apple TV+] beyond a marketing play, but they’re really smart people,” he said. “Maybe they see something we don’t.”
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Prime Video is the only streamer Sarandos is unsure about, as they have found great success with their live sports offerings, and they have a similar investment in content to Netflix.
“This is just me as an observer. Sports has been very effective [for Prime Video]. And I don’t know if that’s their entire strategy,” Sarandos said, adding. “I don’t know what their long-term plans are. They’ve been streaming exactly as long as we have. They’ve been making original content exactly as long as we have.”
Beyond feeling as though his company has a competitive advantage that they will continue to lean into, Sarandos is also very excited for the content coming up this year, with new episodes of their most popular shows releasing.
“Look, we have the return of our biggest franchises,” he said. “We have the finale of STRANGER THINGS, which is going to be incredible; a third season of SQUID GAME, which the world is waiting for; and the return of WEDNESDAY. All three of the biggest shows in the history of Netflix and maybe in the history of television.”
“And our film slate, with films from Guillermo del Toro and Noah Baumbach and a new KNIVES OUT film,” he continued. “It is just and incredible embarrassment of riches.”
Beyond their upcoming content, Sarandos is also incredibly excited about the future of the company from the tech side, from their video game library to their ability to stream live events.
“I’ve always said that we need to be a company with one foot firmly in Hollywood and one foot in Silicon Valley. With live, I want to keep pushing events,” he explained. “Everything we invest in, in the live space should be a contained, ownable event. Every time we buy a football game, I don’t think I’m after an entire season of NFL. I don’t want a season of football; I want the Super Bowl. With our Christmas Day games, we’re creating something like that.”
While Netflix certainly has a bright future and will likely continue to reign supreme among traditional streamers, it does have fierce competition in YouTube.
In February, YouTube dominated with 11.6% of TV viewership across all platforms, according to Neilsen’s The Gauge. Netflix, meanwhile, snagged second place with 8.2%.
YouTube has ruled as the most-watched streamer for over two years, but in some ways, it is simply in a league of its own, and streamers like Netflix are now buying its content, rather than trying to outdo it.
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