After ‘Suits’ Effect, Netflix’s Ted Sarandos Urges Studios To License Streamer More Titles

Peter White
·2 min read

Netflix has had a big twelve months when it comes to licensed content.

Deadline revealed in June that Warner Bros. Discovery struck a deal to license a number of titles including Insecure, Ballers and Six Feet Under and in December it inked a wide-ranging deal with Disney that sent titles including Lost, This Is Us and How I Met Your Mother to Netflix in example for securing Grey’s Anatomy on the Disney-owned platforms.

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This comes after the hottest show of the summer was Suits, a legal drama that started in 2011, thanks to appearing on Netflix, prompting a new spinoff, as revealed by Deadline.

Now, Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos wants more.

“I believe because of our our distribution heft and our recommendation system that sometimes we can uniquely add more value to the studio’s IP than they can. Not all the time, but sometimes it does, and we are the best buyer for it,” Sarandos said on its investor call after its fourth-quarter earnings. “I am thrilled that the studios are more open to licensing again, and I’m thrilled to tell them that we are open for business.”

Sarandos has talked up licensing before, in particular on its previous earnings call, but he went a step further today.

Sarandos also highlighted the fact that Netflix used to be much more of a partner on some shows, picking up digital rights to series from rival broadcasters and giving them a boost in-between seasons.

He mentioned AMC’s Breaking Bad, which was certainly helped by its exposure on Netflix, as well as The Walking Dead and Schitt’s Creek. The latter aired in the U.S. on Pop but a second window on Netflix as well as deals for a large number of international territories bolstered the Canadian comedy.

“I guess I’d call you back to that history again and just say we’ve got a rich history of helping break some of TV’s biggest hits like Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead. Even more recently with Schitt’s Creek. Because of our recommendation and our reach, we can resurrect the show like Suits and turn it into a big pop culture moment and also generate billions of hours of joy for our members I think you’re good to remember the studios have always been in the business of selling their content to others, including direct competitors for years,” he added.

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