Netflix: Sarandos Talks SAG-AFTRA, WGA Strikes During Earnings Call

Posted in: Movies, Netflix, streaming, TV | Tagged: amptp, netflix, SAG-AFTRA, wga, writers’ strike

Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos addressed the topic of the SAG-AFTRA & WGA strikes during the streamer’s Q2 earnings results on Wednesday.

In another example of bad timing/bad messaging (though not nearly on the level as what Disney CEO Bob Iger had to share last week), Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos took on the topic of the SAG-AFTRA & WGA strikes during the streamer’s Q2 earnings results on Wednesday. Why is this already a problem? Because Sarandos’ words come on the same day that the streamer revealed that due to spending less this year on content than originally expected because of the strikes (and what was described as “timing of production starts”), it’s estimated to have at least $5B in free cash flow for the year (with $3.5B originally predicted). In addition, Netflix added an additional 5.9 million global subscribers (reaching 238.3 million) and showed strong early success with its new password-sharing initiative.

“Let me start by making something absolutely clear: This strike, these strikes, is not an outcome that we wanted. 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,” Sarandos shared during a pre-taped interview for the earnings report. “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.”

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