Sarandos says Netflix is ‘saving Hollywood’
Sarandos says Netflix is ‘saving Hollywood’
The co-CEO of the world’s largest streamer isn’t shedding any tears over the cultural shift away from movie theaters.
There has long been little love lost between movie theaters and Netflix. So, perhaps it should be no surprise that the co-CEO for the world’s largest streaming service, Ted Sarandos, isn’t writing any laments for the cinema business. The Netflix executive didn’t hold back on Wednesday when he shared his thoughts about the state of entertainment at the Time100 Summit. Sarandos noted that not only have times likely changed for good when it comes to how people watch movies, but that his company is actually the one saving Hollywood, rather than destroying it.
Key Details:
- Netflix to the rescue: Sarandos argued that Netflix is “saving Hollywood,” not contributing to its decline.
- Consumer friendly: The co-CEO also said Netflix is simply trying to meet customers where they are.
- Baby come back: AMC’s CEO recently made the argument that movies should stay in theaters longer.
Sarandos didn’t give an inch to the premise that Netflix and other streaming services are somehow holding back a resurgence of the old movie business in a post-pandemic world. Although productions are increasingly moving away from California and box-office receipts are still not what they were before COVID, Sarandos dismissed the question when asked if his streamer has destroyed Tinseltown.
“No, we’re saving Hollywood,” he replied.
He then discussed sagging box office results not as a puzzle that Netflix and other studios have to solve, but simply as a fact of life that reflects what audiences really want.
“What is the consumer trying to tell us?” Sarandos asked rhetorically. “That they’d like to watch movies at home.”
The co-CEO also said he thought that the communal experience of watching a movie in a theater was an “outmoded idea” for most audiences, reinforcing his argument that most viewers prefer to have the choice of simply watching new movies from the comfort of their own couch.
Sarandos’ words will be of little comfort to theater chain executives like AMC’s Adam Aron. During AMC’s quarterly earnings conference call in February, Aron called on streamers to lengthen the amount of time movies stay in theaters before they hit on-demand platforms. He specifically called out Netflix as a service he wanted to see put more movies in theaters, instead of releasing them directly to streaming.
From the sound of Sarandos’s comments, it doesn’t appear that Aron should be holding his breath for that outcome. Netflix acknowledges that theaters are not what they once were, but doesn’t see any urgent need to lend a hand in resolving what it doesn’t see as a problem in the first place.
Netflix
Netflix is a leading subscription-based video streaming service that offers on-demand access to an extensive library of over 3,000 movies, 2,000+ TV shows, and a growing collection of acclaimed Netflix originals. Renowned for producing groundbreaking content, Netflix has become a cultural powerhouse with hit originals like “Stranger Things,” “Wednesday,” “Squid Game,” “The Crown,” “Tiger King,” “Bridgerton,” “The Witcher,” and “Black Mirror.”