Netflix Co-CEO: Putting the Audience First Is Key to Authentic Personalization

Being authentic is a great way for any brand to elevate personalization to its customers.

For Netflix, which operates in more than 190 countries around the world, putting specific audiences first is the key to successful programming, according to co-CEO Ted Sarandos.

In his keynote speech this week at the Royal Television Society London Convention 2024, Sarandos emphasized Netflix’s commitment to authentic programming that resonates with local audiences. While it may be tempting to aim for a global audience, success often lies in creating content that speaks to specific cultural contexts.

Sarandos highlighted the success of U.K.-produced shows like “Supacell” and “Heartstopper,” which gained international acclaim because they authentically reflected British experiences. He stressed that Netflix’s programming decisions are guided by local teams who understand the unique tastes of their audiences, reinforcing the idea that genuine storytelling can appeal broadly when rooted in authenticity.

“You have some of the very best writers, directors, producers, actors, crew, crafts and locations anywhere in the world,” Sarandos explained during the speech. “I have always thought of the U.K. as the birthplace of prestige television — a creative culture unlike any other. It’s why Netflix invests more here than any other country outside the U.S. Since 2020, we’ve invested $6 billion in the U.K. creative community — and worked with over 30,000 cast and crew. Today we have over 100 productions active in the U.K.”

Putting the audience first dates back many years for Sarandos.

“As a teenager, my first job was in the local video store — watching movies by day, and serving customers at night,” he said in the speech. “My memory is pretty lousy now, but back then I could remember every scene and actor in pretty much every film or TV show. I loved recommending something new or unexpected to our customers. That experience taught me to think about putting the audience first. And that’s how I believe we need to approach programming today. Not as critics, not as media executives, but as fans.”

The key piece of that authentic personalization is something that came from experience, he noted.

“Over the years, we’ve learned that everything starts local,” Sarandos said in the speech. “At a time when anyone can watch anything, anytime, anywhere in the world, it’s tempting to try and program for a ‘global’ audience. But that’s a mistake. Because when you try and make something for everyone, you typically end up making something that appeals to no one. There is rarely a global audience for anything. It’s why when we greenlight a series or movie in the U.K., or Mexico, or Korea, we do it because we think our British, our Mexican and our Korean audiences will love it. And you know what? When you make something authentic that appeals to certain people in a certain place, it tends to appeal to a lot of other people in a lot of other places, too.”

The case can be made that film and television audiences share the same sensibilities as retail consumers when it comes to personalization. According to the PYMNTS Intelligence report “Personalized Offers Are Powerful — but Too Often Off-Base,” 71% of shoppers who received personalized offers are interested in them. Plus, another 12% did not receive personalized offers, but are interested in them.

Sarandos pointed to “Supacell,” a story about five superpowered South Londoners that became a huge hit in the U.S.; “Baby Reindeer,” which hit No. 1 on Netflix’s Top 10 in 79 countries and took home six Emmys, including Best Limited Series; and “Heartstopper,” “which has spoken to a whole new generation of viewers from Brazil to Japan. Or ‘The Gentlemen,’ which was loved in countries from Norway to Nigeria. All of them became global sensations because they were all, in their own way, authentically British. Made in the U.K. for U.K. audiences by U.K. creators with U.K. casts and crews.”

To succeed, Sarandos said in the speech, “we need to put the audience first — and that means embracing change. The entertainment industry has always been defined by change.”

“People often ask me if we really need so many movies and TV shows on Netflix,” he added. “…And my answer is an emphatic yes. People have such different and eclectic tastes that you can’t afford to program for just one sensibility. You have to love it all — prestige dramas, indie films, true crime, romantic comedies, stand-up, documentaries and reality TV.”

Sarandos noted that much of the fandom is driven by younger audiences who love and appreciate authentic personalization.

“[S]tories have always mattered,” he said in the speech. “Stories endure — whether it’s from film to TV, TV to video, video to DVD, or DVD to the internet. And what makes them so powerful is not the technology — important as that is. It’s the depth of the writing. The power of the plot. The chemistry between the actors. The heart that no model or machine can replicate or replace… That’s what makes me optimistic about the future. Because if we can focus on the audience, embrace change and remain fearless in the stories that we’re telling, I know we’ll look back 20 years from now and say we really were only just getting started.”

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