I'm LongbridgeAI, I can summarize articles.Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos stated that the company's growth is not fast enough, acknowledging slower viewership increases. He highlighted that live sports and content are driving signups and reducing churn, despite contributing only 1% to total viewership. Sarandos also expressed no regrets over passing on a higher bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, believing their pricing strategy was correct for shareholder value.
Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) is set to report third-quarter financial results next month. That report comes after second-quarter results were mixed, with revenue missing analyst estimates and earnings per share beating estimates.
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos recognizes the slower growth that investors are seeing.
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Netflix CEO on Growth
Live sports and content are part of Netflix’s growth plan and, according to Sarandos, they’re working.
Sarandos said live content is generating "a lot of signups," reducing subscriber churn and helping advertising growth, as shared by The Hollywood Reporter. The comments came at Bloomberg’s 2026 Screentime event, where Sarandos acknowledged the streaming giant’s slower growth.
"Overall, we’re not growing as fast as I want us to, and we’re working on making that move faster," Sarandos said.
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Sarandos’ comment comes as Netflix’s overall viewership was up only 2% year-over-year in the first half of 2026.
With annual investments of around $20 billion, Netflix is putting around 5% of that total into live programming, according to Sarandos. That live content contributes around 1% of viewership, but is helping grow the overall subscriber base.
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Passing on Overspending for Warner Bros. Discovery
During Sarandos comments, the CEO also acknowledged that he has no regrets in not bidding higher to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD).
"I think the plan was solid," Sarandos said. "We won the deal at some point, so we think we priced it right — at our scale. That was the top price point where I thought we could return value to our shareholders."
Paramount Skydance (NASDAQ:PSKY) bid higher to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery. Sarandos said a higher bid from Netflix may have taken things "into negative territory."
Sarandos says how big of a streaming threat the combination of Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery can be remains to be seen.
"It looks on paper — so far it’s one and one."
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