Ted Sarandos: TV Content 50% of Netflix Streaming

8 Nov, 2010 By: Erik Gruenwedel

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Repurposed television shows account for 50% of streaming content for Netflix subscribers — making TV a bigger part of the streaming service than it is on disc, said Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s chief content officer.

Speaking Nov.8 at a media conference in West Hollywood, Calif., Sarandos said the appeal of repurposed TV shows compared to feature-length movies is their brevity. By contrast, the CCO said repurposed programming on TV DVD never amounted to more than 20% of Netflix’s physical rental business.

“[Episodic TV is] like a 20-minute movie; it fits people’s lifestyles,” Sarandos said.

He said Netflix would continue to position itself as a complimentary — not competitive — platform to multiservice operators such as cable and satellite TV. Sarandos said the service’s goal remained catering to individual subscriber viewing habits and not building a one-size-fits-all model. He added that Netflix had no interest in rolling out ad-supported content.

“We are not about amassing the same large audience [as primetime TV] to sell cars,” he said. “We are looking for the highest quality audience.”

The executive acknowledged that upgrading the quality of streaming content remained an ongoing challenge — one predicated on working with content holders and not intentionally disrupting distribution windows.

Citing recent license deals with pay-TV platform Epix and producer Relativity Media as transformative events in Netflix’s history, Sarandos said content agreements that involved a sellthrough component or non-subcription, transactional video-on-demand never come to fruition due to their inherent competition with partners such as Apple TV, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

He said Netflix will remain a subscription-based service catering to the individual tastes of members.

“We are a one-trick pony,” he said.

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