Variety: Netflix’s Ted Sarandos Says Disney CEO Job Is ‘Not Even on My Mind’

Story from Variety:

Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos doesn’t have any interest in becoming the next chief exec of Disney.

“Not even on my mind,” Sarandos said, speaking Tuesday at the WSJ Tech Live conference in Laguna Beach, Calif. He was responding to a question by interviewer Emma Tucker, editor in chief of the Wall Street Journal, about whether he was interested in taking on the Disney CEO job. Sarandos commented, “Honestly, I think what we are doing is so exciting.”

On Monday, Disney announced that its board now expects to announce a new CEO in early 2026 to replace Bob Iger, whose contract expires at the end of that year. The succession process is being led by James Gorman, former CEO of Morgan Stanley, who is assuming the role of Disney chairman in January 2025.

At the WSJ Tech Live conference, Sarandos also disavowed any plans to go into politics at any point, saying he is “never going to run for office.”

Asked what TV shows or movies he wished Netflix had produced or acquired, Sarandos said “there’s a bunch of them” and specifically cited FX/Hulu’s “The Bear” and Apple TV+’s “Ted Lasso,” which have both garnered major awards wins. “I watch a lot of content,” he said. On the other hand, according to Sarandos, Netflix picked up hit series “Nobody Wants This” from Erin Foster after every other streamer and network passed on it.

Unlike Disney, Netflix probably will not ever have huge theme parks, according to Sarandos. But he said he does see an opportunity for Netflix to build out “50 or 60” permanent retail destinations around the world, which combine ticketed in-person experiences, shopping and restaurants. In 2025, Netflix plans to open its first two “Netflix Houses” in Dallas and King of Prussia, Pa. (outside of Philadelphia), set to include experiential activities tied to the streamer’s franchises like “Bridgerton,” “Stranger Things” and “Squid Game.”

The initial Netflix House locations are “meant to mostly be a learning experience,” Sarandos said. “I don’t see us having a [theme] park, but I do see us having 50 or 60 of these around the world.”

Meanwhile, Netflix doesn’t plan to build its own generative AI tools, Sarandos said. “I look at gen AI as a tool for creators to create content,” not for Netflix to generate content without human creatives, he said. The question is whether the use of of any given tool can result in a better show or movie. Sarandos said he didn’t expect the company to create its own gen-AI platform: “It wouldn’t be a great investment for us.” But, he added, AI will be “be very helpful in helping people find things to watch” vis-à-vis Netflix’s content-recommendation systems.

Sarandos indicated Netflix still isn’t looking at any big M&A. “We ‘ve mostly been builders instead of buyers to get to this point,” he said. “There’s still so much room to grow here in the core business.”

With Netflix set to air the Nov. 15 boxing match between Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson and two NFL games on Christmas Day 2024, is the streamer looking at acquiring rights to full seasons of sporting events from leagues? Tucker asked Sarandos. “I’ll never say never, but right now I’d say we’re in the live events business — and some of those are sports,” he said, noting that starting next year Netflix will run WWE’s “Monday Night Raw” live each week. There’s a big difference in the economics of sports special events (like NFL on Christmas) and full-season rights, Sarandos said, saying that live sports distribution is a low-margin business.

As for competition, when Netflix releases a new title, it “competes with everything that was ever made,” Sarandos said. About user-generated content specifically, he said, social media platforms can serve as a “training ground for storytellers,” but he added that “killing time and spending time are two different activities.” Sarandos reiterated a point he’s made before that, given their different monetization models, “it isn’t possible to do something at the scope and scale of what we do at Netflix on social media.”

Asked about Netflix’s advertising-supported tier, Sarandos noted the company has 40 million users on the ad plan and that base is “growing pretty quickly.” The ad tier, he said, is a way to “open up the larger addressable market” for consumers who want to buy a Netflix subscription at a lower monthly price.

Last week, Netflix reported third-quarter 2024 earnings that topped Wall Street expectations, gaining 5.1 million subscribers globally to hit 282.72 million as of the end of the quarter. The streamer provided guidance for 2025 revenue of $43 billion-$44 billion, which would represent growth of 11%-13% compared with its 2024 revenue guidance of $38.9 billion.

In comments on the Q3 earnings interview, Sarandos said the company was not shifting from its cost-plus model of paying TV and film talent upfront, citing remarks by Netflix chief content officer Bela Bajaria at a recent meeting with top talent agents and lawyers. “Bela said this very clearly a couple of weeks ago to all the talent agencies: We’re not changing our compensation structure,” Sarandos said. “Paying upfront, something that Netflix actually pioneered, benefits creators and it benefits Netflix.”