Exclusive Revelation: Netflix Reveals Unprecedented Strategy to Keep Content Exclusively In-House, Shaping the Future of Streaming

Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos has clarified why the company has chosen not to license its shows and movies to other streaming platforms. Despite a highly competitive streaming market that includes Disney Plus, Max, Prime Video, Hulu, Apple TV Plus, and others, Netflix maintains its position as the leading streamer with a considerably larger subscriber base than its rivals. During a recent earnings call, Sarandos revealed that licensing content to other streamers does not offer the same advantages for Netflix. Please see Sarandos' complete statement below.

We have always offered our members incredible value on Netflix. In comparison, when we make our content available elsewhere, there is usually a crossover with Netflix users or a smaller audience. We believe we are making the right decision by providing our members with access to our content even after its original release on Netflix.

The syndication and home video markets, which still exist today, are not as promising as the opportunity we have to satisfy and excite our members with our entire content library throughout its history.

Why Some Streamers Are Licensing Out Content

Extraction 1 made a strong comeback into the top 10 after the success of Extraction 2 in the previous quarter. This pattern of new seasons or spin-offs boosting the popularity of their predecessors is not uncommon, as seen with Queen Charlotte's rise to the top 10 and the subsequent success of Bridgerton Season 1 and Bridgerton Season 2. Therefore, this offering is highly flexible and constantly evolving. Furthermore, as the content library expands, it becomes even more valuable and diverse.

The streaming industry is currently undergoing significant changes. After Netflix experienced massive growth in the 2010s, other companies swiftly entered the market to take advantage of this trend. They launched their own streaming platforms, offering exclusive content to attract subscribers. These companies invested billions of dollars into expanding their content libraries, but recently there has been a shift in perspective. Streamers have realized that much of this spending has not yielded satisfactory returns.

Max (formerly known as HBO Max) was the first streaming service to make significant changes during a period of industry decline. They took steps such as canceling the Batgirl movie to benefit from tax deductions, and also removing numerous shows and movies from their platform. Some of these shows, including Raised by Wolves, Legendary, and Westworld, were then licensed to free, ad-supported television channels like The Roku Channel and Tubi.

This decision not only generated revenue for Warner Bros. Discovery through licensing fees, but also had the potential to attract viewers to Max for additional content. Disney CEO Bob Iger has recently indicated his openness to adopting a similar strategy for Disney Plus, and has even expressed a willingness to sell assets like the ABC Network, FX, and National Geographic. With more companies embracing this approach, it appears that Netflix will, for now, continue offering its extensive collection of original content, particularly given the success of its ad-supported tier.

Source: ComicBook.com