Netflix is undergoing a corporate transition, but long-term co-CEO and Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos is staying. In a recent interview, he may have just given one of his most controversial statements: Netflix has never canceled a show with good viewership.
Since Netflix's first original series, House of Cards, hit the platform, the streamer has cultivated a reputation for experimentation. However, in recent years that same philosophy has seen many well-liked shows get the axe. Nevertheless, with Netflix and other streaming services’ reluctance to share viewership data regularly, it’s often hard for audiences and even industry insiders to gauge how successful some productions were.
In an exclusive chat with the new CEO duo, Greg Peters and Sarandos discussed this matter with Bloomberg, among many others. Sarandos denied the company has ever “canceled a successful show. A lot of these shows were well-intended but talk to a very small audience on a very big budget.” Asked whether it’s sustainable for Netflix to keep it’s 25% video viewership in the United States, Sarandos says yes, since Netflix creates content for a wide spectrum and is “equal parts HBO, AMC, FX, the Food Network, HGTV and Comedy Central. Lifetime. You used to have to hunt through 500 channels of cable to find them all.”
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Although Bela Bajaria will assume the role of Chief Content Officer, Sarandos seems happy with that decision. On the topic of cancelled Netflix shows, Sarandos said, “you have to be able to talk to a small audience on a small budget and a large audience at a large budget.” In 2022 alone, Netflix canceled over 20 shows, including Space Force, The Midnight Gospel, and Warrior Nun, in addition to notable flunks like Resident Evil and Blockbuster.
On the opposite end of Sarandos' words are fans of the canceled series that built a fan base, such as Inside Job. Yet it’s hard to explain why Netflix would refuse to back content that draws enough viewers to match its respective production budget. Among those shows with a following that led to plenty of fan outcry after being canceled are Bojack Horseman, Sense8, and GLOW, which are in a different category than Daredevil, which was cut due to Disney recovering control of the Marvel property.
It could be argued that a lot of content on Netflix was made during an era of non-stop growth, and now that big tech has seen that boom cycle end, the streaming services have become more mindful of how they spend their money.
Source: Bloomberg