Netflix considered Bake Off bid

The Great British Bake Off debuted on BBC2 and is now bound for Channel 4

Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos has said the US SVoD service would have been interested in buying The Great British Bake Off but did not believe the ratings hit would ever leave the BBC.

Sarandos admitted that Netflix would have been keen to go head-to-head with eventual buyer Channel 4 (C4) for the show.

“We knew it was brewing, but I didn’t actually think it would happen,” said Sarandos in an interview with the Radio Times.

Asked if in this case Netflix was simply “too slow off the mark,” Sarandos replied: “Yes, yes.”

It comes as ITV said it did not want to bid for the Love Productions-produced show because producers could not guarantee a deal with the programme’s stars.

Ted Sarandos

Hosts Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins and judge Mary Berry have since confirmed they will not move with the show to C4 despite the £75m three-season deal struck with Love.

Last week, the BBC ordered a cookery competition show in the wake of losing Bake Off to C4.

The Big Family Cooking Challenge (working title, 12×60′), from UK prodco Voltage TV, is bound for BBC2 and will see family teams of amateurs battle it out for the chance to be crowned the nation’s best home cooks.

The BBC lost Bake Off following disagreements over price with Love Productions. The show’s status on BBC1 had been in doubt for some time, with Love and the pubcaster in talks about its future for almost 12 months.

C4 has secured one judge, Paul Hollywood, for its first version, which is due to air in 2017. The channel has reportedly been negotiating with the BBC about dropping a one-year cooling-off period following its move.