Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos Stays Mum On Ratings & Cancellations At Summer TCA

Whenever Ted Sarandos faces the press at TCA tours, he knows he’s going to be asked about ratings — even though he’ll never divulge any of that information. Today, he said the numbers estimated by services like Symphony aren’t trustworthy and re-emphasized that ratings matter to ad-supported networks. Netflix is interested in providing a broad range of stories that appeal to a wide swath of people so they can keep adding to their subscriber base.

Sarandos said, “We’re a global television company and you’re watching us expand in real time. We launched in 130 countries in January.”

Sarandos went on to talk about the challenge of launching in foreign territories because each new territory has its own set of attendant problems like bandwidth, internet speed, and e-commerce. He explained, “Whenever we launch a new territory, we’re flying pretty blind. We grew faster in Q1, and slower in Q2.”

Sarandos beamed when he talked about the 54 Emmy nominations Netflix received, which is up from 2015, and he praised Marvel’s Jessica Jones for being the first Marvel show to garner a Peabody Award. Master of None also received the honor this year. He was also careful to note, “Netflix has become a place to discover talent in front of and behind the camera, with shows like Orange is the New Black, Stranger Things, and The Get Down.”  Before announcing a barrage of upcoming shows, Sarandos said, “I’m pleased we’ve built volume. I’m also happy we’re building franchises that viewers will enjoy for years to come.”

Among the upcoming series Sarandos mentioned: Smokey Robinson will work on an animated series that brings Motown songs to life, Jennifer Garner will be part of a new kids series based on the best-selling “Llama Llama” books, the service has extended their agreement with The CW network, and Netflix will be the SVOD service for the new “Star Trek: Discovery” series (except for in the U.S. and Canada). More upcoming series include  Victor Fresco’s Santa Clarita starring Tim Olyphant and Drew Barrymore, Godless, a western starring Jack O’Connell and Michelle Dockery and Ozark starring Jason Bateman and Laura Linney.

September premieres include Chef’s Table: France and Easy. October brings the second season of The Ranch and a new season of Black Mirror. The new version of One Day at a Time arrives in January 2017.  On the renewal front, Lady Dynamite, Real Rob and Chelsea will all return with new episodes in 2017. Marvel’s Iron Fist and Marvel’s The Defenders will also debut in 2017, but no dates are set yet.

Asked if any Netflix shows ever get cancelled, Sarandos said, “We look for shows that can sustain multiple seasons, and multiple season arcs. It’s laid out that way in the pitch.” The grounds for cancellation? “Relative to what it costs, does it get an audience? Does it get audience completion?”

Clearly, people are watching. We just don’t know how many.

[Photos: Netflix]