Sarandos: “Still so much potential in TV”
September 17, 2024
Colin Mann @ RTS London Convention
Ted Sarandos, co-CEO of Netflix, in delivering his keynote speech at the Royal Television Society London Convention, began by declaring that Britain is one of the best places for TV and film production.
“The Royal Television Society always holds a special place in my heart because it was here, back in 2016, that I showed you the first trailer for the first season of The Crown. Over the next seven years, The Crown went on to become the most nominated British TV series in Emmy history — and only one of three to win best drama. But I’ll always remember it as a show that stood conventional wisdom on its head,” said Sarandos.
“Peter Morgan’s pitch was for a six-season show with a rotating cast. A show that would take ten years to produce. It was something that no one had ever tried before — and something that most people thought would never work. But it did, introducing a new generation of stars to the world. Besides being one of the best shows of the last decade, The Crown is also a perfect example of why Britain remains one of the best places for TV and film. You have some of the very best writers, directors, producers, actors, crew, crafts and locations anywhere in the world. I have always thought of the UK as the birthplace of prestige television — a creative culture unlike any other. It’s why Netflix invests more here than any other country outside the US. Since 2020, we’ve invested $6 billion in the UK creative community — and worked with over 30,000 cast and crew. Today we have over 100 productions active in the UK,” he added.
“This wealth of talent is a Great British success story. Because it didn’t happen by accident. It happened because you have great public service broadcasters and institutions that nurture British talent and creativity. Institutions like the RTS, the oldest television society in the world. It happened because you’ve consistently supported regulations that encourage creativity, innovation and long term thinking. And it happened because you invested in education and training in the creative arts at every level, as well as investing in your amazing facilities. All of which have been supported by highly competitive tax incentives which make the UK an even more attractive place for anyone looking to make a film or show. Filming here in Britain is always a privilege, and never a sacrifice. In other words, Britain became one of the best countries in the world for TV and film because you made it happen,” continued Sarandos.
Looking to the future of the the entertainment industry, Sarandos said it has “always been defined by change. New technology comes along, new companies pop up, and patterns of consumer behaviour shift. We saw it with cable, then home video, then streaming. And now we’re seeing it happen again”.
“Today, choice and control are the price of admission in modern entertainment. It’s streaming that consumers want. And it’s how our industry stays relevant — and grows — in the face of intense competition from all directions,” suggested Sarandos. “Like cable TV and home video before it, streaming also opens up new opportunities for creators to make their voices heard. For distributors to reach bigger audiences. And for those audiences to have more choices of what to watch.”
“Today, our members can watch a world of entertainment for a fraction of the price of a box set of The Sopranos in 2007. And they don’t have to wait two months for all the episodes of a show to come out, or for a film to finish its theatrical run. I know the TV business was built on windows, but audiences don’t care about them at all. When you work in our business long enough, it can be easy to get distracted by all of the complexities. Rights. Distribution. Technology. It goes on and on. These are all important things. But what really matters is how well we serve our audiences. What are we willing to do to serve them better. Which brings me to the next lesson: audiences care a lot about variety and quality.”
“People often ask me if we really need so many movies and TV shows on Netflix. It’s a debate you’ve been having here in the UK, too. And my answer is an emphatic yes. People have such different and eclectic tastes that you can’t afford to programme for just one sensibility. You have to love it all — prestige dramas, indie films, true crime, romantic comedies, stand-up, documentaries and reality TV. At a time when anyone can watch anything, anytime, anywhere in the world, it’s tempting to try and programme for a ‘global’ audience. But that’s a mistake. Because when you try and make something for everyone, you typically end up making something that appeals to no one. There is rarely a global audience for anything. It’s why when we greenlight a series or movie in the UK, or Mexico or Korea, we do it because we think our British, our Mexican and our Korean audiences will love it.”
In conclusion, Sarandos said he believes there’s still so much potential in TV today.
“So much of the fandom right now is driven by younger audiences. We see it in the videos they create on TikTok. The trailers and clips they watch on YouTube and Instagram. The way they obsess over storylines on subReddits. This generation loves stories as much as we ever have — maybe more. We just have to find the right ways to connect with them. When the first TV broadcast went out in the UK in 1936, the announcer described ‘the magic of television’. And while a lot has happened since then — social change and cultural upheaval, wars and pandemics — that magic is just as inspiring today as it was a century ago. That’s because stories have always mattered. Stories endure — whether it’s from film to TV, TV to video, video to DVD or DVD to the Internet. And what makes them so powerful is not the technology — important as that is. It’s the depth of the writing. The power of the plot. The chemistry between the actors. The heart that no model or machine can replicate or replace.”
“I know there’s a lot of anxiety in our industry right now — there’s concern about falling investment, there’s the threat of AI and there’s competition from platforms like YouTube, TikTok and Instagram. And I get it. I think about that stuff, too. But everyday people come up to me to talk about a show or movie they loved. And they have the exact same look on their face that I saw in that video store way back when — the same look I saw on the faces in this room when we watched that first trailer for The Crown. That’s what makes me optimistic about the future. Because if we can focus on the audience, embrace change and remain fearless in the stories that we’re telling, I know we’ll look back 20 years from now and say we really were only just getting started,” said Sarandos,