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Theodore Sarandos
Theodore Sarandos NFLX
Co-CEO, President & Director, Netflix Inc
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“Are We Right Now On Stolen Land?” — Ted Cruz Grills Netflix CEO Over Political Bias

📅 Oct 15, 2026 Prime Politics 9 MIN 54 VIEWS 51 SEGMENTS · 4 SPEAKERS
Ted Cruz confronted Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos during a Senate hearing over the proposed $83 billion entertainment merger, questioning the company about market power, political bias, Hollywood, and the distinction between entertainment and propaganda. The most striking moment came when Cruz asked Sarandos and the other witness whether they believed the hearing room was sitting on “stolen land.” Cruz connected the exchange to a recent Grammys moment involving the statement, “Nobody is illegal while we’re on stolen land,” and argued that it reflected a broader ideological problem within the en...

What Theodore Sarandos said

Written from the verified transcript and checked against it. Every figure links to the moment it was said.

In a Senate hearing, Ted Cruz questioned Netflix Co-CEO Theodore Sarandos about allegations of political bias in entertainment and the proposed HBO Max merger. Sarandos said he had no knowledge of whether the land was stolen and corrected his initial subscriber count to 86 million in North America. He argued market power requires delivering value to benefit, and he stated monopolies are not good, but Netflix is not dominant, holding 9% of the market share. When pressed on streaming market share, he said defining it would be a fictional concept but estimated 20-21% excluding YouTube. He acknowledged a difference between entertainment and propaganda and defended Netflix by saying it would fail if it promoted a political viewpoint, noting its audience is about 40% conservative and 40% liberal. He declined to name programs for conservatives, asserting no shows are designed for any political group.

Key takeaways

  1. Netflix holds about 9% of the market share, which he expects to grow to 10%.
  2. Excluding YouTube, Netflix's streaming market share would be about 20-21%.
  3. Netflix's audience is roughly 40% conservative, 40% liberal, and 20% unaffiliated.
  4. Sarandos said Netflix would fail if it promoted a political viewpoint or propaganda.
  5. He stated monopolies are not a good thing in America.

Numbers and commitments

FigureWhat it refers toTypeAt
86 million Netflix's North American subscriber count metric 1:17
9% Netflix's market share metric 2:43
20% to 21% Netflix's streaming market share excluding YouTube metric 3:15
40% conservative, 40% liberal, and about 20% Political breakdown of Netflix's audience metric 6:06

Chapters

  1. 0:00Question on stolen land
  2. 1:04Subscriber numbers and market share
  3. 2:02Monopolies and market power
  4. 2:54Streaming market definition
  5. 3:25Entertainment versus propaganda
  6. 6:06Defense against political bias

Questions asked in this interview

10
  1. 0:02One simple question: Are we now on stolen land?
  2. 1:04Sarandos, how many subscribers does Netflix have in the United States?
  3. 1:28Okay, if the merger goes through, how many subscribers do you expect to have?
  4. 2:02Does increased market power usually lead to higher prices or lower prices?
  5. 2:24In your opinion, are monopolies a good thing in America?
  6. 2:37Should the American people be concerned about monopolies in entertainment and streaming?
  7. 2:54In the streaming market, in paid subscriptions, what percentage of the market do you own?
  8. 3:25Do you agree that there is a difference between entertainment and propaganda?
  9. 3:44In fact, I want to ask either of you: did you watch the Grammy Awards this week?
  10. 4:20... can viewers in their homes have even the slightest confidence that if this merger goes through, the combined entity won't be just a propaganda tool promoting a specific political viewpoint with much greater market power than you have now?
Ted Cruz 0:02 ↗
One simple question: Are we now on stolen land?
Theodore Sarandos 0:09 ↗
I have no idea about the history of this land we are sitting on today.
David Zaslav 0:13 ↗
Neither do I, Senator.
Ted Cruz 0:14 ↗
That means a lot — that neither of you is ready to say, "No, of course not, we are not on stolen land." I'll say that at the Grammy Awards, when you see an artist say, "There is no illegal human while we are on stolen land," and then you see the artists standing on their feet and enthusiastically applauding the idea that America is basically illegitimate — this starts to convey the idea that the entertainment world is deeply corrupt. And I would like to point out that the same singer who says, "There is no illegal human on stolen land," immediately returned to her $14 million mansion. And somehow, that stolen land she was talking about didn't mean anything to her — she only meant the United States of America.
Narrator 0:48 ↗
But Cruz wasn't finished with his questions about market power. He quickly turned the session toward something more controversial: political influence in entertainment, the ideological divide in Hollywood, and whether Netflix — the biggest player — could become more than just a streaming company.
Ted Cruz 1:04 ↗
This is an $83 billion merger. It's a big deal. Entertainment matters, and content matters. Mr. Sarandos, how many subscribers does Netflix have in the United States?
Theodore Sarandos 1:17 ↗
About 86,000. 86 million, sorry.
Ted Cruz 1:21 ↗
And if the merger goes through...
Theodore Sarandos 1:23 ↗
Senator Cruz, we report our numbers for North America. So, I believe that includes Canada.
Ted Cruz 1:28 ↗
Okay, if the merger goes through, how many subscribers do you expect to have?
Theodore Sarandos 1:32 ↗
Um...
Ted Cruz 1:33 ↗
But this is about HBO Max. What is the latest number you have?
David Zaslav 1:37 ↗
We don't publicly disclose HBO's numbers, but HBO subscribers in the United States are about 50 million. But remember, 80% of those subscribers are already subscribed to Netflix. So there's significant overlap here.
Ted Cruz 1:51 ↗
So if you have 90 million now with Netflix, by what measure would you exceed 100 million based on the overlap? Is it fair to say that?
David Zaslav 1:59 ↗
Based on the overlap and subscriber retention rates, yes.
Ted Cruz 2:02 ↗
It's a basic economic question. Does increased market power usually lead to higher prices or lower prices?
Theodore Sarandos 2:13 ↗
In which industry, sir?
Ted Cruz 2:15 ↗
In any industry.
Theodore Sarandos 2:17 ↗
I believe market power gives you the ability, but if you don't deliver value, you'll never benefit from it.
Ted Cruz 2:24 ↗
You have a man sitting behind you who represents monopoly. In your opinion, are monopolies a good thing in America?
Theodore Sarandos 2:32 ↗
No, sir, they are not.
Ted Cruz 2:37 ↗
Should the American people be concerned about monopolies in entertainment and streaming?
Theodore Sarandos 2:43 ↗
Just for clarification: while monopolies are not a good thing, we are not dominant in any way, let alone monopolistic. We hold 9% of the market share, which will grow to 10%. If you want to strain yourself...
Ted Cruz 2:54 ↗
Okay, but that means defining the market the way you want it. That, of course, is an antitrust assessment, and defining the market is crucial. In the streaming market, in paid subscriptions, what percentage of the market do you own?
Theodore Sarandos 3:07 ↗
Um, we just — as you know — for us, that would be a somewhat fictional concept.

26 more exchanges in this transcript

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Cite this transcript

APA, MLA, BibTeX
APA

Sarandos, T. (2026, October 15). “Are We Right Now On Stolen Land?” — Ted Cruz Grills Netflix CEO Over Political Bias [Interview transcript]. Prime Politics. CEOInterviews.AI. https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/3069041/

MLA

Theodore Sarandos. "“Are We Right Now On Stolen Land?” — Ted Cruz Grills Netflix CEO Over Political Bias." Prime Politics, 15 Oct. 2026. Transcript, CEOInterviews.AI, https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/3069041/.

BibTeX 
@misc{sarandos2026_3069041,
  author       = {Theodore Sarandos},
  title        = {“Are We Right Now On Stolen Land?” — Ted Cruz Grills Netflix CEO Over Political Bias},
  howpublished = {Interview transcript, Prime Politics. CEOInterviews.AI},
  year         = {2026},
  month        = {oct},
  url          = {https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/3069041/},
  note         = {Speaker-attributed transcript with timestamps}
}