Yahoo News Netflix’s Ted Sarandos Says “We Don’t Want A Writers Strike” But Highlights “Robust” Slate Of Films & Series In Case Of WGA Action
As part of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, Netflix is one of those companies currently at the table negotiating with the Writers Guild over a new deal.
Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos addressed the possibility of a writers strike during the company’s first-quarter financials today.
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“We respect the writers, and we respect the WGA. We couldn’t be here without them,” he said. “We don’t want a strike. If there’s a strike — and we want to work really hard to make sure we can find a fair and equitable deal so we can avoid one — but if there is one, we have a large base of upcoming shows and films from around the world. We can probably serve our members better than most.”
Sarandos is the second high-profile exec to discuss the possibility of a strike after Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav said last week that he was “optimistic that we can get through this in a way that’s fair to all parties” but that he’s “assuming the worst from a business perspective”.
Netflix was in the crosshairs from writers this week after it emerged that Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings had bought a stake in a ski resort. Dailyn Rodriguez, showrunner of Netflix’s The Lincoln Lawyer, said on social media “they are so poor” with a link to the story of Hastings latest purchase.
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Sarandos highlighted the fact that last time there was a strike it was “devastating” to creators and “really hard” for the industry. “It was painful for local economies that support production. And it was very, very, very bad for fans,” he added.
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“We really don’t want this to happen. But we have to make plans for the worst. We have a pretty robust slate of releases to take us into a long time but just be just be clear, we’re at the table and we’re going to try to get to an equitable solution so there isn’t a strike,” Sarandos said.
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