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Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos told a room full of television writers clamoring for data on Monday that the streaming service will maintain its refusal to share any metrics “for as long as we can.”
Sarandos said that since Netflix neither sells ads nor programs its content into time slots where one may be privileged over another, the company really sees no need to divulge viewership data.
“There is no real business need for us to report those numbers,” Sarandos said in the lead off session of the Television Critics Association 2015 Winter Press Tour in Pasadena.
Later in his session he took a big swipe at the current ratings system as a whole.
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“I don’t think perpetuating inaccurate numbers is a way to get ‑‑ to build confidence in truthful reporting, and I think that what happens is these numbers are ‑‑ you see network after network now moving to this because the numbers don’t reflect the viewing audience,” Sarandos said. “So I don’t think perpetuating bad information is a way to build confidence in viewers or business press.”
Netflix made a bit of programming news on Wednesday, announcing it had renewed original series Marco Polo for a second season. Premiere dates were also rolled out for Ever After High, a Dreamworks original series (February 6) and the second season of Mako Mermaids on February 13.
Four series also received worldwide debut dates: Tina Fey’s The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (March 6), Bloodline (March 20), Daredevil (April 10)—the first Marvel series for Netflix—and finally the Jane Fonda-Lily Tomlin comedy Grace and Frankie on May 8.
Sarandos insisted that Netflix still wasn’t getting into the “resurrecting-of-shows business,” as one reporter put it in his question, but that the company would be “opportunistic.”
He and his team’s personal enjoyment of a series plays a big factor in whether or not to give it a second life, but typically any show Netflix chooses to save from the dead needs to have a passionate and dedicated fan base. For example, Arrested Development had been off the air for six years, Sarandos said, and yet people were constantly talking about how the show would come back. A more recent example is Netflix’s resurrection of Longmire.
As for the future of Arrested Development on Netflix, Sarandos hedged: we’re trying to make it work, but everyone has busy schedules, he said.
What’s not on Netflix’s radar? Sports and news.
Netflix’s brand propostion is all about on-demand viewing, Sarandos said.
“Things that are really served best live are probably not best served by Netflix or on-demand services,” he said.
Netflix was not the only company making news on the press tour’s first day.
ESPN paid tribute Wednesday to recently deceased longtime SportsCenter anchor Stuart Scott. The assembled reporters and industry staffers were treated to a video montage of on-set bloopers and highlights from his on-air career.
Scott, 49, died on January 4 after a seven-year battle with cancer.
Actress Eva Longoria, who was at the press tour to promote her upcoming ESPN documentary series V’s, said that Scott helped transform sports into pop culture.
“He’s a big reason why I even know what ESPN is,” Longoria said.
National Geographic Channels followed ESPN, with the company unveiling its first-ever talk show, a late night offering called Star Talk, to be hosted by famed physicist Neil deGrasse Tyson.
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