Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos is ready for a potential writers’ strike with a long-running slate

Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos says they are better prepared than most studios in case the writers’ strike materializes, which would put a stop to several Hollywood productions. During its review of Q1 2023 results, the executive noted how the streaming platform would fare if the work stoppage situation becomes a reality, pointing to its large slate of movies and shows to watch. to come, which would keep disruption to a minimum. For the uninitiated, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) has voted overwhelmingly in favor of a strike, as a last resort if negotiations to make substantial changes to a writer’s compensation for their work don’t end. favorably.

“We respect the writers and we respect the WGA and we couldn’t be here without them,” Sarandos said during the review meeting (via IndieWire). “But if there is, we have a large base of upcoming shows and movies from around the world, so we can probably serve our members better than most. We really don’t want that to happen, but we have to plan for the worst, so we have a pretty solid slate of releases to take us on for a long time. The 2023 writers’ strike would be Hollywood’s first halt since 2007, which at the time left late-night comedians and actors with no jokes or lines to recite. The current contract between the studios and the writers ends on May 1, which would then lead to a strike if the two sides fail to agree on a new deal that reverses the downward trend in writers’ pay.

Almost 98 percent members voted in favor of a strike, an extremely large amount that would significantly hurt studios that had never planned ahead. According to The Hollywood Reporter, rumors of a potential writer’s strike have been circulating for months now, forcing companies to stockpile scripts and renew their go-ahead sooner. Netflix appears to be the only studio that could still thrive under these difficult conditions, given its penchant for planning projects well in advance of releases. “One of the benefits of releasing our series all at once is that we’re working way ahead of our release cycle,” Sarandos said during a 2020 Netflix earnings call at the height of the crisis. COVID-19 pandemic.

Additionally, the Venkatesh and Rana Daggubati led Rana Naidu was renewed for a second season, after trending at no. 1 place for the most watched series in India for three consecutive weeks. “India is a big prize because it’s a huge population of people who love entertainment, and you just have to have the product they love,” Sarandos said during the meeting.

Meanwhile, Netflix has also decided to retire its 25-year-old DVD rental service, which makes sense given that the physical media sector has been down since digital streaming took off – even more so during the pandemic. The company will ship its final discs on September 29, with the official blog noting that more than 5.2 billion DVDs have been shipped to date. It will accept DVD returns until October 27. A report suggests that in 2022, Netflix earned $145.69 million (about Rs 1,196 crore), down 20% from the previous year.

Earlier this week, analysts predicted that Netflix would add 2-3 million subscribers in its first quarter of 2023. However, the updated numbers fell a bit short, coming in at 1.75 million new memberships, marking the first quarter for which the streamer did not provide internal estimates, per IndieWire. The company also postponed its plans to crack down on password sharing in the United States until the second quarter.

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