Netflix co-chief executive officer Ted Sarandos said the company is not growing as fast as he would like and is working to accelerate that growth. Speaking to Lucas Shaw at Bloomberg Screentime in Los Angeles, Sarandos noted Netflix grew engagement 2% in its last announcement, on a base of 200 billion hours of watching, a figure he acknowledged falls short of the double-digit growth investors have come to expect. He said live programming, a relatively new area for Netflix, consumes about 5% of the content budget but generates only about 1% of viewing, creating an engagement headwind even as it drives signups, retention and advertising. Sarandos also pointed to headwinds from events such as the World Cup and world sports, while stressing that the business remains strong, with double-digit revenue growth in every region of the world in the past quarter. On acquisitions, he said Netflix has traditionally been a builder rather than a big buyer, but that the Warner Brothers asset was attractive because it was unusually clean and let the company buy only what it wanted, adding that Netflix is not looking to backfill that deal and will grow primarily organically while pursuing complementary opportunities, including in games.
Netflix IncSarandos says Netflix engagement grew only 2% and is falling short of the double-digit growth investors expect, with live programming generating just 1% of viewing.
Warner Bros Discovery IncSarandos calls the Warner Brothers asset attractive and unusually clean, but says Netflix is not looking to backfill that deal and will grow mainly organically.
