After Reed Hastings left his post as CEO of the biggest streaming platform, his apprentices Greg Peters and Ted Sarandos were made the co-CEOs of the company. The duo is faced with numerous challenges every day, yet they took out some time to talk in-depth about their new roles, business, and which direction will they take their company.
Sarandos and Peters said if not for Netflix, the Korean Drama Squid Game could never become so popular within 30 hours of release. Squid Game was watched all over the world, but it wasn’t the same for shows like Ginny and Georgia. The co-CEOs are confident that they will continue to survive and thrive in a highly competitive market.
Ted Sarandos explains how and why shows are canceled
Netflix was heavily criticized on Twitter for canceling good shows like 1899, Inside Job, and Warrior Nun among others. When the new co-CEOs were asked about it, they gave logical explanations as to why and how they cancel shows. He confirmed that Netflix has never canceled any successful show, but it seems that the streaming platform defines success differently.
Sarandos explains the metric on which they cancel shows. He said,
“We have never canceled a successful show. A lot of these shows were well-intended but talk to a very small audience on a very big budget. The key to it is you have to be able to talk to a small audience on a small budget and a large audience at a large budget. If you do that well, you can do that forever.”
1899 was shot on a budget of approximately 62 million dollars and according to third-party analytics, only 32 percent of Netflix users watched the finale of 1899. Whereas Korean dramas are being watched by 60 percent of Netflix users.
Fans believe that Netflix should give shows more time and opt out of the binge model
Many on Twitter did not agree with this model and criticized the co-CEOs binge model which relies heavily on making a profit. They feel that Netflix should give time for good shows to develop an audience. The netizens gave their feedback, claiming that a streaming platform as huge as Netflix should not hesitate from catering to the smaller groups. The minority could also mean marginalized groups which relate to the shows and films. This should be a window for the streaming giant to reach out to the minority instead they just canceling the show.
Every week people are talking about it and as the discourse grows, the more people join in along the way. I personally will wait to binge it but if all the episodes were released at once. Nobody will be talking about it in a week.
The Binge model kills a show’s shelf life.— . (@Daywale) January 23, 2023
Some shows need time to build an audience. Game of Thrones didn’t pick up steam until it’s 3rd season.
Stop the binge model. Shows wouldn’t grow an audience if everyone has seen it and are done talking about it in 3 days.
— . (@Daywale) January 23, 2023
I was so intrigued by this. Watched the pilot, dug it, but got swamped with work, holidays, etc. Had a plan to catch up with it in February. Now I do not care since I know it’s not going to finish.
— Cody Butler (@CodyButler) January 24, 2023
Well, maybe lower their budget instead of canceling them. “Very small audience” may mean the minority, and these shows being in a streaming site like #Netflix can make a whole lot of difference to them and for them. Please do better.
— 𝗞𝗔𝗥𝗟 (@koswords23) January 23, 2023
WHERE IS MY THIRD SEASON OF MINDHUNTER
— Tabares (@andrjatb17) January 23, 2023
Agreed. The binge model works for some shows, for the big event shows, it doesn’t. Shows like Stranger Things, Breaking Bad, GoT, Dark, etc… should be weekly releases. The comedies, realities, less epic dramas, and miniseries, do work best with a binge model.
— Roma Kong (@RomaKong) January 23, 2023
Even though numbers might not have been in favor of 1899, it got very popular on the internet. Some point out how Football, holidays, and shows like Emily in Paris were a distraction. If the suits at Netflix gave some time to 1899, it could have gained more audience and picked up the pace.
Many agree that the binge model works for some shows, case in point Emily in Paris, Brooklyn99, Wednesday, etc. But more serious shows like Dark, and Stranger Things, should be released on a weekly basis. It would give some breathing time to the audience and create excitement for the show like Hotstar released House of Dragon weekly, which resulted in audiences gradually accepting the show after the disastrous ending of GOT.
1899 is streaming on Netflix.
Source: Bloomberg
