Archive · 1 Oct 2026
Netflix CEO Says Growth Is Too Slow as Company Expands
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said the company is growing, but not as quickly as he wants.
Engagement, or the time people spend watching, rose 2% in the latest period.
Revenue increased by more than 10% in every region.
Netflix is trying new ways to attract viewers, including live events, sports, video podcasts, and creator programming.
It is also putting more movies in theaters.
Netflix tried to buy Warner Bros.
but stopped bidding when Paramount Skydance offered more money.
Sarandos said Netflix will focus mainly on growing its own business instead of making another large purchase.
The company is also using artificial intelligence to help make shows and movies faster and less expensively.
Ted Sarandos said Netflix is not growing as quickly as he wants, despite 2% engagement growth and double-digit revenue increases across regions.
Netflix is allocating about 5% of its $20 billion content budget to live programming, including sports and events.
The company plans broader theatrical releases for films including Narnia, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and a KPop Demon Hunters sequel.
Netflix shares have fallen about 24% this year amid forecasts for slower growth and rising content spending.
Sarandos defended Netflix’s Warner Bros. pursuit, rejected a replacement acquisition, and said the company expects growth to remain primarily organic.
- Who
- Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s co-chief executive officer, and Netflix.
- What
- Netflix is seeking to accelerate growth through live programming, theatrical film releases, advertising, new creator content, and artificial intelligence.
- When
- Sarandos made the comments on Wednesday at the Bloomberg Screentime conference; the articles do not specify the date.
- Where
- Los Angeles, where the Bloomberg Screentime conference was held.
- Why
- Netflix is responding to slower growth, declining engagement momentum, rising content costs, and the need to attract more viewing time and advertising revenue.
Expansion and Investment
Caution and Organic Growth
How to increase growth
Expansion and Investment
Netflix is expanding into live sports and events, video podcasts, major YouTube creators, theatrical releases, and artificial-intelligence tools to attract viewers and advertising revenue.
Caution and Organic Growth
The company faces slower growth, higher content spending, and weaker engagement momentum, creating financial pressure as it broadens its activities.
Warner Bros. acquisition
Expansion and Investment
Netflix pursued Warner Bros. Discovery because the film and television studios and HBO Max could have added major content and streaming assets at Netflix’s scale.
Caution and Organic Growth
Sarandos said Netflix stopped at the highest price he believed could generate shareholder returns and declined to match Paramount Skydance’s higher offer.
Talent departures
Expansion and Investment
Sarandos said Netflix remains in business with creators and characterized departures by the Duffer brothers and Shawn Levy as driven by individual circumstances.
Caution and Organic Growth
The departures have raised concerns about prominent filmmakers and creators moving to rival studios, although Sarandos rejected the idea of a broader breakdown in Netflix’s talent relationships.
- Latest engagement growth
- 2%
- Content budget
- About $20 billion
- Share of budget for live programming
- About 5%
- Subscribers
- 325 million
- Share-price decline this year
- About 24%
- Warner Bros. deal value initially agreed by Netflix
- About $83 billion in enterprise value
- InterPositive acquisition price
- $587 million