Sarandos: TV ‘trumps movies’

NATPE: Television dramas have now become more culturally relevant than movies, according to Netflix content chief Ted Sarandos.

Sarandos, who received a Brandon Tartikoff Legacy Award last night, said television had now “displaced” movies in the public’s consciousness because “distribution for TV has never been better.”

“If people are going to watch Breaking Bad, they are not going to miss it, like they used to,” he said during a panel alongside the show’s creator, Vince Gilligan, and Arrested Development mastermind Mitch Hurwitz.

“Audiences are just going to jump in and find the show a great experience. Whereas if you want to see a movie, you have to wait at least a year to watch it on Netflix, or you have to wait at least four or six months to watch it on pay-per-view or buy it on DVD,” said Sarandos.

Sarandos, who reiterated Netflix’s desire to launch around 20 original scripted shows a year, added that consumers’ access to movies was “super disconnected,” compared with television shows.

However, he said his firm’s decision to make Sony movie The Interview available to subscribers in the US and Canada, after it was pulled from theatrical release last year, highlights the changing film distribution model.

Gilligan, currently working on AMC’s upcoming Breaking Bad prequel Better Call Saul, said the lines between TV and movies had now become completely blurred.

“Previously, TV was essentially a videoed stage play, but now we’ve got to the point where we premiere a show like Breaking Bad in a movie theater,” said Gilligan, adding that he was concerned about the future of the film business.