Netflix’s Ted Sarandos

NEW YORK: Ahead of attending the Asia Pacific Video Operators Summit (APOS), Netflix’s chief content officer, Ted Sarandos, provides TV AsiaPac with a snapshot of how the regional offering is faring thus far and what his goals are for the service’s Asian business.

TV ASIAPAC: What have you learned so far about what your Asian customers are responding to in the Netflix lineup?
SARANDOS: First, it’s important to say it’s just been a few months into our global launch and there’s still much to learn and discover about how we can evolve in Asia. But whether it’s Asia or any part of the world where we have launched, our first audience is usually early adopters of technology, entertainment enthusiasts and the well-traveled. In fact, what we are seeing in Asia is actually similar to what we’re seeing elsewhere in the world. People are enjoying Netflix originals such as Marvel’s Daredevil, Marvel’s Jessica Jones, Narcos and Making a Murderer. Asian consumers are responding well to the Netflix experience because they love our originals and they love the control of a flat-fee unlimited viewing, commercial-free experience, which they can cancel anytime without commitments. They can watch as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, on nearly any internet-connected screen. They can play, pause and resume watching.

TV ASIAPAC: What message are you sending to the creative community across the region about the kinds of projects you’re looking for?
SARANDOS: Central to our original content is how we look for talented storytellers with a strong track record and who have stories they are passionate about telling. Great stories travel; for example, Narcos was filmed 70 percent in Spanish but is enjoyed all over the world, and no less in Asia. The story transcended geographies.

TV ASIAPAC: China and India remain the region’s largest and perhaps most complicated markets. Can you comment at all on your strategy for China? And what are your views on cracking the Indian scripted market, which is very much dominated by female-skewing daily soaps?
SARANDOS: We see China as a longer-term initiative. It could be years or it could be faster than that, but at the end of the day we want to get it right.

Our goal is to create an incredible range of series and films, entertainment meant to appeal to people of every age, taste and culture. Because we aren’t courting advertisers, because we aren’t programming to a single demographic and because we are global and on-demand, we have a unique and expansive opportunity to tell great stories.

TV ASIAPAC: You’re heading back to APOS this year—what’s the message you’re putting out to Asian platforms about the kinds of partnerships you’d like to enter into, whether it’s telcos or consumer-electronics brands, to continue building your reach in the region?
SARANDOS: We are looking forward to working with Asian ISPs and consumer-electronics partners; it’s part of how we grow and expand. We want to work with our partners to support amazing innovation for consumer benefit; for example, partnerships on strong net neutrality, where payments are neutral between ISPs and content providers. Today, our Open Connect program allows thousands of large and small ISPs to directly interconnect with the Netflix network for free—rather than going through third-party transit providers, which lowers both our costs and that of the ISPs. Then for MVPDs [multichannel video programming distributors], we want to work with providers who offer internet-capable TV set-top devices, working with them on integrated viewing experiences (and in many cases integrated billing), which increase the use of the operator set-top device. As for consumer-electronics partners, we are already working with them on Netflix-ready devices this year and our partners can take advantage of the quality of our original content shot in 4K and HDR [high-dynamic range] to showcase their innovation for a superior viewing experience.

TV ASIAPAC: It has been more than three years now since you kick-started original programming at Netflix—how has the strategy evolved over the years? Is it a different approach now that you’re programming a global network?
SARANDOS: With each original title, we learn more about what our members want, about how to produce and promote effectively, and about the positive impact of originals on our brand. Today, our original slate continues to expand at an incredible pace. We released nearly 450 hours of global original content in 2015 and are planning more than 600 hours in 2016. This year, Netflix plans to release 31 new and returning original series, two dozen original feature films and documentaries, a wide range of stand-up comedy specials and 30 original kids’ series—available at the same time to members everywhere.

TV ASIAPAC: You use a no-pilots model in the United States. Have you replicated that internationally?
SARANDOS: Yes, we have. We believe in prudently committing to a whole season, rather than just a pilot episode. This allows us to provide a platform for more creative storytelling—varying lengths per episode based on story line, no need for week-to-week recaps, no fixed notion of what constitutes a “season.” [It goes] back to how it makes it easier for us to attract creative talent.

TV ASIAPAC: I know that, depending on the territory, production houses are used to delivering different episode counts and durations. What have you learned from your experiences now in the U.K., in France or in other global markets about international content production?
SARANDOS: Whether it is the U.K., France or Korea, we provide creators the freedom to tell a story in the number of episodes that will accomplish the feat of telling great stories. The beauty of an internet-TV model is that these episodes don’t have to fit into some pre-determined time frame or schedule, unlike traditional pay TV. These episodes, whatever the number, are released all at once and give our subscribers the joy of great stories, the freedom of on-demand and the fun of binge-viewing. We have also learned that while great stories travel, people’s tastes are very broad in any single market. There will always be cultural and geographical nuances between markets in entertainment genres, which is why Netflix is relevant, because as internet TV, we can offer a wide variety. Then we top that with how our personalization algorithms quickly learn and make recommendations based upon individual tastes. Those members who love action blockbusters, Korean soaps, anime, sci-fi, Sundance films, zombie shows or kids’ cartoons will find that Netflix fills their home page with relevant and interesting titles.

TV ASIAPAC: From a logistical and scheduling perspective, how are you managing this constantly growing slate that now also includes productions coming from other parts of the world?
SARANDOS: As the slate grows, so does the company.

TV ASIAPAC: How are you managing the strategy for acquisitions in terms of balancing global versus local or regional buys?
SARANDOS: We generally don’t share details of our acquisition strategy, but we are definitely expanding our reach into local and regional acquisitions. An example is how we picked up Brahman Naman, a coming-of-age Indian comedy [from indie director Q] at this year’s Sundance Film Festival; and then we’re investing in an upcoming South Korean film, Okja, by Bong Joon-ho, who directed [the 2013 sci-fi action film] Snowpiercer. Overall, in 2016, we expect to spend close to $5 billion on licensed and original content.