Netflix’s Ted Sarandos Says He Doesn’t Want a Writers Strike, but ‘We Do Have a Pretty Robust Slate’ If There Is

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Coulda, woulda, shoulda? Ten years ago, Yahoo was looking for a “transformative” acquisition, former CEO Marissa Mayer said in a recent interview with Tech Brew. Among the targets the internet company was looking at: Netflix and Hulu. Yahoo ended up buying blogging site Tumblr for $1.1 billion in 2013 — which, to put it mildly, did not pan out as expected. “We looked at a transformative acquisition, and we bought Tumblr,” Mayer said. “At the same time, we were also considering whether it was possible to buy Hulu or, ironically, Netflix. And I think Netflix was $4 billion and Hulu was at $1.3 billion at the time. And either of those, with hindsight being 20/20, would have been a better acquisition.” (Netflix’s market capitalization in May 2013 was $12.7 billion; as of Friday, it was about $143.5 billion.)

The first episode of “Queen Charlotte” features a dedication to Jacqueline Avant which might leave viewers scratching their heads.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor After record-breaking growth in 2021, U.S. internet ad revenue slowed last year — but continued to show double-digit growth. That’s according to the 2022 annual ad revenue report from the Internet Advertising Bureau trade group, conducted by PwC. Between 2021-22, U.S. internet advertising revenue grew 10.8% year-over-year to a total of $209.7 billion, compared with 35.4% surge the previous year, per the study. In 2022, digital ad spending saw the highest growth in Q2 (21.1%) followed by Q2 at 11.8% before slowing in Q3 (8.4%) and Q4 (4.4%). By comparison, U.S. TV advertising revenue in 2022 grew 2%, to $71 billion, according to estimates from PwC’s Entertainment and Media Outlook 2022-2026 report.

Naman Ramachandran India is the fastest growing market market in the world for giant streamer Netflix and Monika Shergill, VP, content, for the country, has a clear plan to keep the trajectory going. “A healthy streaming business, according to us, has to be built on the strong fundamentals of engagement, where we are doing very well, and revenue and profit as a global service. We are a profitable service – in many of our markets, we are on the path to profitability,” Shergill told Variety. Earlier this year, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos had said that content watching grew by 30% last year in India and revenue grew by 25%. In a subsequent earnings call, Sarandos addressed the importance of pricing in India, saying: “We’ve got to get pricing and the main payment methods right.”

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Roku is reinvesting in — and bulking up — its originals lineup, announcing a new season of “The Great American Baking Show” and an unscripted comedy featuring singer-songwriter Charlie Puth among the shows coming to the Roku Channel. Notably, the content announcements at Roku’s 2023 NewFronts presentation — coming on Day One of the WGA writers strike — were unscripted/reality formats. Also at the event in New York Tuesday, the streaming platform unveiled a suite of new ad solutions, including sponsorships for its popular Roku City screensaver. The company announced that it has renewed reality competition series “The Great American Baking Show” for Season 2. The news came ahead of the premiere Friday, May 5, of the new six-episode run of the show featuring Paul Hollywood, Prue Leith, Ellie Kemper and Zach Cherry (pictured above, left) on the Roku Channel. “The Great American Baking Show,” produced by Love Productions USA, ran for five seasons on ABC as a spinoff of original hit “The Great British Baking Show” before it was picked up last year by Roku. The streaming company previously acquired U.S. rights to dozens of episodes in the “Great Baking Show” franchise for a FAST channel. Roku will also bring back the holiday special of “The Great American Baking Show,” which will feature all-new celebrity bakers and debut this upcoming holiday season.

Almost all late-night talk shows, from to, will cease production for likely the whole duration of the strike. During Monday's show, Colbert ran through a number of «news stories» from the future after explaining that the writers are «so important to our show… and this nation owes so much to unions.» As for, the NBC sketch comedy series will air reruns instead of producing new episodes, meaning that Pete Davidson's upcoming debut as host «canceled due to the writers’ strike.»One show that will air as usual is Greg Gutfeld's Fox News program,, which ET has learned «is not impacted by the strike.» With the 2023 TV premiere schedule already mapped out until the end of August, there will not likely be an immediate impact on any current programming rolling out over the next few months — especially most series that have already completed writing scripts on upcoming episodes. For example, «a source close to production [on ] tells that scripts on the hit show have been done for some time, and that filming on the second season won't be affected.»When it comes to Netflix, CEO Ted Sarandos has said, «We have a large base of upcoming shows and films from around the world.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Writer and comedian Adam Conover blasted David Zaslav, the Warner Bros Discovery CEO, during an interview with CNN on Tuesday, a company Zaslav also oversees. “David Zaslav, the CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent company of the network I’m talking to you on right now, was paid $250 million last year, a quarter of a billion dollars,” Conover said during his interview with CNN correspondent Sara Sidner. “That’s about the same level as what 10,000 writers are asking him to pay all of us collectively, alright. So I would say if you’re being paid $250 million — these companies are making enormous amounts of money. Their profits are going up. It’s ridiculous for them to plead poverty.”

unable to reach a deal in contract negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.The guild has shared an infographic that outlines the $773 million in combined salary that eight major Hollywood studio CEOs made in 2021. They include Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel ($308.2 million), Warner Bros.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Jeff Shell, the former chief executive of NBCUniversal, forfeited stock grants and options worth $43.3 million after he was fired for cause earlier this week, according to a Comcast regulatory filing. Shell was terminated as CEO of NBCU over the past weekend after an internal investigation into his relationship with Hadley Gamble, an international correspondent for CNBC. “As previously disclosed, Mr. Shell’s employment was terminated with cause on April 23, 2023. As a result, he did not receive any supplemental payments or benefits in connection with his termination,” Comcast said in its 2023 proxy statement. “He will receive only his accrued but unpaid base salary and vacation time, vested employee benefits and reimbursement for any unreimbursed business expenses in accordance with his employment agreement.”

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor In today’s podcast news roundup: Buzzy Cohen gives “Jeopardy!” fans an insider’s look at the popular game show; “Real Housewives” alum Ramona Singer launches a podcast with her daughter, Avery; CNN Audio debuts “The Prince Mixtape,” exploring the Purple One’s life and legacy; the New York Times’ The Athletic preps a deep dive on LeBron James’ basketball career; OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network renews its SiriusXM podcast deal; Tribeca Festival sets 2023 podcast programming lineup; and more. Sony Music Entertainment and Sony Pictures Television launched “This Is Jeopardy! America’s Favorite Quiz Show,” a new podcast that goes behind the scenes of the long-running game show hosted by former “Jeopardy!” champion and guest host Buzzy Cohen. The podcast, which premiered Wednesday (April 26) promises listeners “an exciting journey through the history of the quiz show,” featuring notable guests including contestants and producers. “I am so excited for the opportunity to give listeners a never-before-seen look at the show,” Cohen, who won the “Jeopardy!” 2017 Tournament of Champions, said in a statement. “This is Jeopardy!” is produced by Somethin’ Else and Sony Music Entertainment. Lizzie Jacobs, Tom Koenig and Sarah Kramer are the executive producers; Mia Warren is senior producer; and Julia Doyle and Sylvie Lubow are producers.

Netflix has said it will invest $2.5BN in South Korean series, films and unscripted shows over the next four years.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Global streaming giant Netflix has publicly committed to spending $2.5 billion (approx. KRW3.34 trillion) on South Korean film and TV production over the next four years. The total is double the amount it has spent in Korea since 2016, the company said. The promise was made by Ted Sarandos, co-CEO of Netflix, at a meeting in Washington DC with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol. “We were able to make this decision because we have great confidence that the Korean creative industry will continue to tell great stories. We were also inspired by the President’s love and strong support for the Korean entertainment industry and fueling the Korean wave. I’d like to personally thank the President for his kind response letter,” Sarandos said in a statement.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Twitter is no longer labeling any accounts as “state-affiliated media” or “government-funded media,” a change that comes after organizations including NPR and PBS objected to the descriptions from the Elon Musk-owned social network and have suspended their activity on Twitter in protest. According to NPR reporter Bobby Allyn, when he emailed Musk to inquire about the decision to drop media labels, the CEO replied, “This was Walter Isaacson’s suggestion.” Isaacson, who has penned biographies of Steve Jobs and Benjamin Franklin, is working on a book about Musk. As of this writing, NPR (8.8 million followers) and PBS (2.2 million) have not resumed posting to their Twitter accounts since suspending activity earlier this month.

filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday, Netflix’s executive chairman and former co-CEO Reed Hastings raked in approximately $51.1 million in total compensation last year, up from the $40.8 million he received in 2021. Hastings’ package included a $650,000 base salary, approximately $49.4 million in stock options and $1 million in other compensation.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Reed Hastings, who stepped aside as co-CEO of Netflix in January, and co-chief Ted Sarandos both saw double-digit increases in their compensation packages for 2022, with their total pay topping $50 million each. Hastings’ total pay last year was $51.07 million, $49.4 million of which was in stock option awards, up 25% from 2021, the streamer disclosed in its 2023 proxy statement Friday. Sarandos’ pay jumped 31.5% in 2022, to $50.3 million, comprising $20 million base annual salary, $28.5 million in stock options and $1.79 million in other compensation (including $1.43 million in residential security costs). In stepping down as co-CEO, Hastings will take a huge pay cut: For 2023, as executive chairman, he’s eligible to receive a $500,000 base salary plus $2.5 million in stock options, according to a Netflix 8-K filing with the SEC. In the co-CEO role, he stood to make $34.7 million this year, mostly in stock.

Reed Hastings saw his total pay package jump by about $10 million last year to $51 million on a new stock option grant. Co-CEO Ted Sarandos pulled in total compensation of $50.3 million, up from $38.2 million, also on a bigger option grant.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor If you want to run ads on Elon Musk’s Twitter from here on out, you apparently will need to pay for verified status — or buy at least $1,000 worth of advertising each month. Twitter said advertisers must subscribe to either Twitter Blue ($8/month and up) or Verified Organizations ($1,000/month) to be eligible to buy ads on the service, according to a notice titled “Building a better Twitter through verification,” shared by social media consultant Matt Navarra early Friday. A request for comment sent Friday to Twitter’s press email account received no response. According to the notice, businesses that spend at least $1,000 monthly in advertising will be automatically verified and receive a gold check-mark badge.

Netflix Orders Season 2 Of ‘Rana Naidu’

Naman Ramachandran “Rana Naidu,” the Indian adaptation of “Ray Donovan,” has been renewed for a second season by Netflix. The news emerged the same day that Netflix announced a 1.75 million jump in subscriptions worldwide. The action thriller that stars Venkatesh Daggubati and Rana Daggubati trended on the No.1 spot as the most watched series in India for three consecutive weeks after launch last month and continues to be in the top 10 series in India for the fifth week in a row. It trended in Netflix’s global top 10 for non-English TV for two weeks after it launched on March 10.

Netflix is owning up to the long delay they had with the Love Is Blind live reunion.