Co-CEO, President & Director, Netflix Inc
SHOCKING:Josh Hawley Challenges Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos Over Content Policies and U.S. Jobs
About Theodore Sarandos
Ted Sarandos, co-CEO of Netflix, has been active in public appearances discussing the company's strategy and responding to regulatory scrutiny. In a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Senator Josh Hawley pressed Sarandos on the proposed Netflix–Warner Bros. merger, labor practices, and children's programming. Hawley accused Netflix of promoting a "transgender ideology" in children's content, which Sarandos denied, stating that Netflix has "no political agenda of any kind" and that the platform offers a wide variety of programming to meet diverse tastes. Sarandos also committed under oath to a 45-day or longer theatrical release window for major Warner Bros. films, and said domestic production would increase, with content spend forecast to grow to $20 billion. On business strategy, Sarandos discussed Netflix's expansion into live sports, including NFL games, describing it as part of a "live event strategy" that started with comedy. He said Netflix is not bidding on whole seasons but is looking to add value to leagues and expand audiences. Sarandos also addressed the company's financial outlook, maintaining guidance for 12-14% revenue growth and a 31.5% operating margin in 2026, with plans to double the advertising business to about $3 billion. He commented on AI in entertainment, saying it will "unlock the ability to tell stories you couldn't before" but that it requires great storytellers. Regarding production costs, Sarandos stated that California has not been competitive for production, and that Netflix has filmed in all 50 states, with a new $1.3 billion studio in Fort Monmouth, New Jersey.
Transcript (44 segments)
✨ AI-enhanced transcript with speaker attribution
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Senator Josh Hawley0:00
This is Mr. Sarandos, if I could just start with you. Let's continue to talk a little bit about the labor impacts here if we could. How many US-based employees does Netflix currently employ, do you know?
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Theodore Sarandos0:10
About 10,000.
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Senator Josh Hawley0:10
Yeah, what about in production roles?
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Theodore Sarandos0:13
Well, in the last over the last it's a fluid number, but we've had about 155,000 production jobs on our originals. At any given time, I don't know the number exactly, sir. I can follow back with your staff, though.
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Senator Josh Hawley0:23
Warner Brothers, how many US production jobs?
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Theodore Sarandos0:27
I don't have the exact number, but I would think in the 8,000 range.
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Senator Josh Hawley0:34
Okay. Here's my question. If this merger goes through, what's your projection about the amount of domestic production, say 2 years from now? Is it going to be static? Is it going to decline?
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Theodore Sarandos0:46
Our production is going to increase.
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Senator Josh Hawley0:49
Domestic production.
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Theodore Sarandos0:51
Domestic production employment will increase. It drives most of our production is domestic, and it will continue to increase. We've recently forecast our content spend independent of this deal to grow to $20 billion. And those licensing dollars compel production as well. That's why it's hard to get an exact number.
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Senator Josh Hawley1:13
Let me show you the data here about US production recently. It's the red line here starting from 2021. You can see it is pretty much straight downward. There's been a massive shift in production overseas to other foreign jurisdictions, leaving the United States. So, will you commit to increasing domestic United States production and domestic United States production jobs? Did I hear you just say you would?
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Theodore Sarandos1:42
Senator Hawley, absolutely. It's in our business plan. It's in our long-term operating DNA. I will point out, sir, respectfully, that chart is Los Angeles.
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Senator Josh Hawley1:50
Yeah, but it reflects all of US production. US production is not going up, right? These jobs have moved. The overall numbers are going down, and this is exactly the concern of labor. And without objection, Mr. Chairman, I'd like to enter into a statement for the record from the Teamsters who have major concerns about this deal, as does frankly pretty much every segment of labor, Mr. Sarandos. And what they all say is they're worried that you're going to cut residuals, which is effectively payments. You're going to cut production jobs. So, let's just go through a few commitments here. Will you commit to using union labor for all domestic shoots?
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Theodore Sarandos2:28
We do use union labor.
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Senator Josh Hawley2:29
Will you commit to using it in the future for all of your domestic shoots if this deal goes through?
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Theodore Sarandos2:33
Senator Hawley, we do use this is the most unionized industry in America, and we use union labor in all our production.
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Senator Josh Hawley2:38
And you're going to going forward. I'm looking for a commitment.
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Theodore Sarandos2:41
You have my commitment.
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Senator Josh Hawley2:41
Will you commit to a 45-day or longer theatrical release window for major Warner Brothers films?
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Theodore Sarandos2:47
Senator Hawley, I just said that I would do that under oath. So, yes.
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Senator Josh Hawley2:50
Good. And will you commit to fairly compensating your workers in the industry with residual payments?
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Theodore Sarandos2:55
Top-of-market payment has been Netflix's business philosophy since we started operating over 20 years.
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Senator Josh Hawley3:01
But listen, what you have been routinely accused of is compressing and reducing residuals. That's one of the biggest objections to labor to this deal. So, let's see if you can lay that to rest today. Will you commit to full residuals?
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Theodore Sarandos3:13
Senator Hawley, I would like to tell you this is a very complicated answer because we prepay.
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Senator Josh Hawley3:18
That's usually on the way to no. That's usually a way of saying no. So, I'm looking for yes.
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Theodore Sarandos3:23
Senator Hawley, I understand that this is not a yes or no answer because.
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Senator Josh Hawley3:25
It kind of is, though.
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Theodore Sarandos3:26
It kind of isn't because we were going to sit down with the unions.
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Senator Josh Hawley3:29
You're disappointing me.
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Theodore Sarandos3:30
Starting in the next few days, sir, we're sitting down with the unions for new contract talks that start actually in 3 days.
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Senator Josh Hawley3:35
This is a complicated long no. I would really hope it would be yes.
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Theodore Sarandos3:39
Okay. Are you asking me to commit to residuals in the traditional form? Because I don't think that applies in many cases. That's why I'm getting there.
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Senator Josh Hawley3:46
All right. Well, I think you've got some work to do on that, Mr. Sarandos. And I would hope that you'd reconsider your position. Before my time expires, I want to ask you about something else related to children. Why is it that so much of Netflix content for children promotes a transgender ideology? Almost half of your content for minor children promotes a transgender ideology agenda. I was just looking at the data here from your various series. And what concerns me is just 2 days ago, a jury in New York awarded a former transitioner $2 million because she said that her psychologist and others pressured her into an ideology that proved to be extremely detrimental. I'm sure you know that in the UK, the National Health Service has said that they're not going to perform transgender surgeries or gender-affirming care for minors, including in counseling, because it is so incredibly detrimental. Our own HHS has come forward with similar findings this past year. Yet if you turn on Netflix, you'll find that an enormous amount of your children's programming has this ideology and agenda in it. Is this an advocacy position for Netflix? Is this an ideological commitment you have? And why is this?
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Theodore Sarandos5:16
Senator Hawley, Netflix has no political agenda of any kind. I would tell you that.
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Senator Josh Hawley5:20
Then why is your children's program so full of this highly sexualized, highly controversial agenda? I don't understand it. It seems strange to me.
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Theodore Sarandos5:31
Respectfully, sir, it's because it's inaccurate. We have millions of hours of children's programming.
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Senator Josh Hawley5:37
You're saying it's not there. You don't feature trans characters, trans storylines, trans themes.
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Theodore Sarandos5:43
I'm saying we feature a wide variety of stories and programs to meet a wide variety of people's tastes.
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Senator Josh Hawley5:50
Almost half of it. Why does almost half of your children's program feature this highly controversial, highly sexualized material? That just seems strange to me. It can't possibly be a reflection of the population.
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Theodore Sarandos6:03
Senator Hawley, I don't have any idea where that number would come from or what that would be. I don't believe that's been your personal experience, but I can't speak to that.
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Senator Josh Hawley6:11
Well, what do you mean you don't think it's been my personal experience? You don't think that I monitor what my children watch on your platform? Here's what I'll tell you what my personal experience is since you're bringing it up. My personal experience is that my three children, I can't let them watch anything they want on Netflix. I can't let them watch anything on Netflix unless I preview it. Because I don't have confidence in what's on your platform. I don't know what they're going to encounter, and I'll tell you what, I don't want my kids being pushed an agenda about their sexuality or gender identity when I have not had the opportunity first to discuss it with them and to form them in that. And I frankly, on behalf of parents around the country, it offends me that Netflix is pushing this content at parents in what seems to be a very coordinated, thought-through, planned-out agenda in a way that frankly, I think undermines parents. Certainly undermines me and my wife. We have to watch every show beforehand before we can let our kids watch it. Now, I don't know. That seems pretty concerning to me. I know you make a gob of money on it, and maybe that's the answer. But it just seems to me that it's a disservice to the parents of this country, particularly given what's happening with our youth on this subject.
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Theodore Sarandos7:17
Senator Hawley, if I may answer, like I said, we have millions of hours of content on Netflix at any given time. We have state-of-the-art tools for you to manage those choices for your children and to block any title that you might be offended by for any reason. We are parents at Netflix as well. We share all your concerns about raising kids and also the ability to raise them as you see fit in your household and anyone else's household as well.
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Senator Josh Hawley7:42
My concern is that you don't share my values or those of many other American parents, and you want the United States government to allow you to become one of the largest, if not the largest, streaming monopolist in the world. I think we ought to be concerned about what content you're promoting.
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Narrator7:59
Senator Josh Hawley took Netflix leadership to task in a recent Senate hearing, highlighting two critical issues: the decline of American production jobs and the promotion of controversial ideological content to children. When pressed on the data showing a clear downward trend in domestic production, Netflix struggled to provide concrete assurances, leaving many to wonder if their business model is prioritizing global expansion over the American workforce. The conversation grew even more heated when Hawley addressed the themes present in the platform's children's programming. While Netflix leadership insisted they have no political agenda, Hawley pushed back, arguing that the inclusion of sensitive topics regarding gender and sexuality in shows for minors undermines parental authority. He challenged the company's reliance on parental control tools, asserting that parents should not have to treat their own living rooms like a minefield just to ensure their children aren't being indoctrinated. Ultimately, the hearing underscored a widening gap between corporate boardrooms and the American families who feel their values are being systematically ignored by streaming giants.