Netflix sits pretty as Hollywood frets about strikes

Is Netflix co-chief executive Ted Sarandos a smoother operator than Disney chief executive Bob Iger? Is Netflix simply less anxious about the outcome of the concurrent actors’ and writers’ strikes than its counterparts in Hollywood? The answer is probably “yes” to both.

Sarandos insisted on an earnings call in the wake of Netflix’s latest quarterly figures this week that the strikes by the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and actors union SAG-AFTRA were “not an outcome that we wanted” and that he was “super-committed” to agreeing deals.

He also offered up a backstory worthy of a Netflix serial: “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 . . . I 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.”

The remarks noticeably contrasted with those offered up by Iger, who declared the unions’ demands were ”not realistic”, “very disturbing” and would have a “very, very damaging effect on the whole business” – words that did not go down well with those on the picket line, including SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher, who noted that Iger was making $78,000 (€70,000) a day.

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Bad feeling had already surged thanks to the anonymous studio executive who told trade publication Deadline that producers planned to “bleed out” the writers on issues such as residual payments until the WGA’s members capitulated out of fear of losing their apartments.

While the more conciliatory tone struck by Sarandos probably shouldn’t be taken as evidence of any softer a negotiating stance behind the scenes, there may be solid reasons – other than the sentimental one about his father’s union ties – why he sounds less antagonistic than some of his peers.

Netflix’s worldwide production base has made it less dependent on the US as a source of programming. Its pipeline of content is therefore stuffed with titles unaffected by the US strikes. This is no plan B: some of Netflix’s biggest hits in recent years have been made a long way from Hollywood.

[ Hollywood actors strike: what we need to know and what will happen? ]

[ Hollywood writers’ strike is at once heartening and depressing ]

This means Netflix, though it could doubtless do without the stoppage on Stranger Things’ final season, can well afford a lengthy strike. But because it is now in a stronger position than many of the rivals who overspent in their race to catch up with its lead in the streaming market, it can also better afford to cut a deal whenever it suits it to do so.