Ted Sarandos: the number-cruncher directing your viewing habits

Netflix needs no introduction, but how many of the California-based company’s 65 million users can name the man who chooses what they watch? Ted Sarandos, Chief Content Officer, dubbed the new ‘Mr Television’, is this man. He has taken calculated risks based on innovative data collection and has, in his role at Netflix, influenced the way in which consumers watch TV and film.

Binge-watching is the new norm for a rapidly growing number of viewers, but Sarandos has said this was his vice from a young age. He recalled watching episode after episode of Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, with his family on Sunday afternoons and succumbed to the same habit 30 years later with The Sopranos. Perhaps he didn’t know it, but this activity foreshadowed the success that Netflix would have in transforming the way in which film and TV-viewing works, his childhood pastimes have influenced the actions of millions around the world.

Entertainment is in Sarandos’ blood; one look at his résumé reveals this passion. He started out as an assistant in a video rental store, next came a post as a regional director, then as the vice-president of product and merchandise at Video City/West Coast Video, before he moved to his current post at Netflix in 2000. This appetite for entertainment has given him the experience and knowledge necessary to influence the industry. He kept up to date with developments and has become a pioneer of his field.

It is therefore somewhat ironic that his career started in a video store, since many argue that Sarandos killed the traditional video store, before he revolutionized the TV industry with new forms of consumption, namely that of on-demand and unlimited viewing options. The line that he is taking at the moment is to develop more and more original series, following on from the successes of House of Cards and Orange Is The New Black.

Epix, the network that runs programs from Lionsgate, MGM and Paramount, was recently ceded to Hulu and Amazon. This provoked some grumbling from subscribers, however according to Sarandos, this is a carefully executed plan. Netflix signed a deal with Disney (incorporating Pixar and Marvel, amongst others) in 2012, which gave Netflix rights to all new releases from 2016 upon leaving cinemas, and the Disney back catalogue, providing subscribers with exclusive, unlimited access.

The impact that Sarandos’ prolific career has left on the TV and film industry is sizeable and he predicts more changes to come. In an interview published in ‘Distribution Revolution: Conversations about the Digital Future of Film and Television’ (Curtin, Holt, Sanson, UC Press, 2014), Sarandos states that “it’s not controversial to say that the Internet will replace the cable box as the primary delivery mechanism for TV within the next 20 years.” Based on developments over the past few years, that period could be shortened. The company, led by Sarandos and CEO Reed Hastings, has completely changed viewing culture.

When Sarandos bought the rights to 2 full seasons – 26 episodes – of House of Cards for $100million, many in the industry were skeptical, but on releasing the first season in full on one day he gave the viewers what they wanted: he released them from the traditional constraints imposed by programmers and allowed them to watch as much as they wanted. This risk has been justified, with House of Cards becoming one of the most recognizable programs in the streaming industry.

He has described himself as a ‘human algorithm,’ referring to the way in which he propagates data-driven programming, utilizing the storehouse of information collected by Netflix. These decisions are based on what viewers watch, when they watch, how highly they rate the product and even when they pause or press rewind.

For example, instead of demanding a pilot episode of House of Cards before purchase, he studied Netflix data to gather information on how popular The West Wing and the BBC original House of Cards was, and determined the popularity of the targeted-lead, Kevin Spacey.

The Content Director thus determines programming based on data, not merely gut instinct, thereby revolutionizing not just the content, but the way in which this content is chosen.

In conversation with Tim Wu of the New Yorker at the Sundance Festival this year, Sarandos revealed that “It is important to know which data to ignore,” but “In practice, it’s probably a seventy-thirty mix: seventy is the data, and thirty is judgment.” Sarandos is that ‘30%’. Without him, the industry would look very different. He has influenced the market through taking risks based on Big Data. This data was readily available and he had the judgement to take advantage of it.

The ‘human algorithm’ has realized that data shapes and influences decision-making processes. However, the information is almost redundant without the insight and analysis from a human.

Sarandos’ aptitude at synthesizing data and judgement is what has enabled him to take so many calculated risks, of which we are certain to see more, but don’t be skeptical when they occur.  

Photo: Netflix

Flora McFarlane 

This article is dedicated to our fortnightly newsletter “Leaders Wisdom Journal”. To Subscribe.

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