Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos On SAG-AFTRA Strike: “This Strike Is Not An Outcome That We Wanted”

EXCLUSIVE: The writers strike is heading towards its 100th day, but there’s a new sense of guarded optimism that both parties – the WGA and the studios, represented by the AMPTP – are on the verge of a making a breakthrough.

Bob Iger, with pressure mounting on multiple fronts, has turned to former top Disney executives Tom Staggs and Kevin Mayer, hiring them as consultants to the media giant as it defines its strategy.

Could an October surprise be coming to Hollywood’s picket lines and C-suites?

Mike Cavanagh, the president of Comcast who was recently named the de-facto head of NBC Universal, said the company remains “committed to reaching a fair deal [with actors and writers[ as soon as possible, so we can get back to doing what we do best, which making great content together.”

Bryan Cranston was one of many high-profile actors to hit the picket line in New York City on Tuesday, speaking at the SAG-AFTRA’s Rock the City for a Fair Contract rally.

Netflix is often mentioned as an M&A player when a studio or media group is up for sale, but don’t expect the streamer to buy a major Hollywood business any time soon.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos addressed Hollywood’s dual SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes alongside the release of the company’s Q2 earnings results Wednesday. Sarandos said: “Let me start by making something absolutely clear: This strike is not an outcome that we want. We make deals all the time. We are constantly at the table negotiating with writers with directors with actors and producers with everyone across the industry. And we very much hoped to reach an agreement by now. So I also want to say, if I may, on a personal level, I was raised in a union household. My dad was a member of IBEW Local 640, he was a union electrician. And I remember his local because that union was very much a part of our lives when I was growing up. And I also remember on more than one occasion, my dad being out on strike. And I remember that because it takes an enormous toll on your family, financially and emotionally. You should know that nobody here, nobody within the AMPTP, and I’m sure nobody at SAG or nobody at the WGA, took any of this lightly. But we’ve got a lot of work to do there. There are a handful of complicated issues. We’re super committed to getting to an agreement as soon as possible, one that is equitable, and one that enables the industry and everybody in it to move forward into the future.

Netflix stands to benefit from the dual strikes underway in Hollywood while competitors like Disney and Apple will get “weaker,” in part because of the streamer’s vast international production pipeline, a top media-stocks analyst said Wednesday on the brink of earnings season.“The strike plays to their advantage,” Michael Nathanson, founding partner of SVB MoffettNathanson, said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “I’ve not been a Netflix bull, but their setup for this quarter and the next 12 months is incredibly strong.”Co-host Andrew Ross-Sorkin seized on that notion, seeking to clarify whether Nathanson meant Netflix would get stronger merely relative to its competition – or if it could help the streamer overall. The answer seemed to be: a bit of both.“I think relative, clearly, right?” Nathanson said.

Stephen Rodrick Fran Drescher is on a hero’s journey.  I know because she told me.   We talked on Monday for about an hour as the actors’ strike moved into a second week. So far, it’s been very dramatic. Last Thursday, Drescher gave her version of Shakespeare’s Henry V’s St. Crispins Day speech with “we happy few” replaced by all American workers via “I think that the whole world is looking at us right now, because human beings in all different walks of life are being replaced by robots.” The speech launched a thousand labor-supporting memes and left reporters wondering if “The Nanny” was the new Norma Rae. Drescher carried the mojo into the first day of picketing on Friday when she called Disney CEO Bob Iger a medieval land baron for discourse launched from his Sun Valley Summer Camp. 

Netflix will be first out of the gate with quarterly earnings after market close today amid a level of Hollywood labor strife not seen since the 1960s. Writers and actors are protesting declines in pay and working conditions — an industry shift that many blame on the company whose name is synonymous with streaming.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) seized on the SAG-AFTRA strike in an online conversation with President Fran Drescher on Tuesday evening, as they both bashed Bob Iger and other CEOs, and made the case for why the actors’ walkout should be of concern of all workers.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Netflix’s move to start broadly monetizing password-sharing users — after years of tacitly allowing the practice with a wink and a nod — could help the streamer beat Q2 2023 earnings targets. The company again kicks off tech and media sector’s second-quarter earnings season, scheduled to report Q2 earnings on Wednesday (July 19) after the market closes. A key question on investors minds will be how well Netflix is prepped to weather the double-whammy of SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes. In April, before either of the strikes commenced, co-CEO Ted Sarandos told analysts, “We do have a pretty robust slate of releases to take us into a long time” in the event of labor walkouts.

The Silent Sea star Gong Yoo is set to lead Netflix’s upcoming original series The Trunk.Today (July 17), Netflix announced that the Gong Yoo has been cast as the lead of its new original series The Trunk. The actor will be joined by Seo Hyun-jin, who previously led popular K-dramas like The Beauty Inside and Why Her.According to Netflix, The Trunk will be a mystery series about the unexpected events that unfold after a strange trunk is found in a lake.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor Disney didn’t let the SAG-AFTRA strike get in the way of its “Haunted Mansion” world premiere. None of the stars of the movie were expected to be in attendance, including LaKeith Stanfield, Tiffany Haddish, Danny DeVito, Rosario Dawson, Chase W. Dillon, Daniel Levy, Jamie Lee Curtis, Hasan Minhaj, Marilu Henner and Lindsay Lamb all observing the SAG-AFTRA strike. The studio still rolled out the red carpet at Disneyland in Anaheim Saturday night. Director Justin Simien told Variety he was “sad” his cast couldn’t attend, but understands why and supports the actors walkout. Later in, he gave a shoutout to the cast while introducing the movie.

"Guardians of the Galaxy" star Sean Gunn blasted Disney CEO Bob Iger over comments that the executive made about the Writer's Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA)  strikes. Shortly before SAG-AFTRA joined the WGA on strike Thursday, Iger, 72, made an appearance on CNBC's "Squawk Box" during which he said that the pending actors union strike would have a "very, very damaging effect on the whole business." "It will affect the economy of different regions, even, because of the sheer size of the business.

Disney CEO Bob Iger recently sat down with CNBC for an interview during which he shared his views on the SAG-AFTRA strike.

Fran Drescher is opening up about the SAG-AFTRA strike and how long it might go on.

With the SAG-AFTRA strike starting today and the WGA writers strike heading into its 74th day, most of Hollywood comes to a standstill. When will these guild strikes end? When negotiations between both of them and the AMPTP resume.

Even the staunchest fans of the Marvel and “Star Wars” franchises must admit keeping track of all the respective movies and TV series can be a slog.

Well, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav already put his foot in his mouth responding to the WGA writers’ strike, so now it’s Bob Iger‘s turn.