Netflix demonstrates its resilience during prolonged Hollywood strikes
Send a link to a friend
[October 19, 2023]
By Dawn Chmielewski and Lisa Richwine
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - As most of Hollywood reels from the writers’ and
actors’ strikes, streaming pioneer Netflix demonstrated resilience, the
company said in its earnings report, gaining more subscribers in a
single quarter than at any time in the past three years.
Netflix capitalized on its global production capabilities, as well as
the economic hardships of its media rivals, to amass 247 million
subscribers in the third quarter, the company said Wednesday - a gain of
nearly 9 million over the last three months. That’s the greatest gain
since the COVID-19 outbreak fueled unprecedented growth in early 2020.
Media rivals will report their own results in coming weeks, revealing
the toll of the industry's months-long work stoppage, which began when
Hollywood's writers went on strike in May. Members of the Writers Guild
of America settled this month, though actors, who walked off the job in
July, remain on strike.
U.S. based-broadcast networks during the recent Hollywood strikes were
forced to fill their fall lineups with repeats and reality shows. Rival
streaming services had to delay new releases and had less
foreign-language programming to offer than Netflix, which has production
capabilities in more than 50 countries and languages.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Oct/19/images/ads/current/peasley_sda_PROMGRAD_2023.png)
“Due to its large international presence, Netflix is positioned better
than most entertainment companies in plugging programming gaps from the
writers' and actors' strikes,” said Insider Intelligence principal
analyst Ross Benes.
“With original US productions delayed and other TV and streaming
companies no longer holding exclusive titles with vise grips, expect
Netflix to revert to its past when many of its biggest shows were
licensed,” Benes said.
A live-action adaptation of the Japanese manga series, “One Piece,”
which represented a collaboration between Netflix’s U.S. and Japanese
content teams, ranked as the top show in 84 countries - a feat that even
the popular sci-fi series “Stranger Things” didn’t accomplish.
[to top of second column]
|
![](../images/101923PIX/ent_a.17.jpg)
Smartphone with Netflix logo is placed on a keyboard in this
illustration taken April 19, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File Photo
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Oct/19/images/ads/current/longviewbank_lda_PPP_2023.png) Meanwhile, the legal drama “Suits,”
which last aired on the USA Network in 2019, set viewing records
when it landed on the streaming service in the summer, one of
several television shows Netflix licensed from media competitors
that are finding fresh audiences on Netflix.
“Because of our distribution footprint and our recommendation
system, we are able to take ‘Suits,’ which had played on other
streaming services, and pop it right into the center of the culture
in a huge way,” Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos said during Wednesday’s
investor video.
As talks between the SAG-AFTRA actors’ and performers union and
major studios broke down last week, dashing hopes for a quick
resolution, Sarandos saw parallels to how Netflix navigated
“prolonged and pretty unpredictable production interruptions" during
the pandemic.
“These are the times that I'm glad we have such a rich and deep and
broad program selection,” Sarandos said.
Still, Netflix is not free from strike disruptions. U.S.-based shows
such as mega-hit “Stranger Things” are on hold until actors return
to work. Delays for some of its biggest shows are “problematic” for
Netflix because “it doesn’t have the same back catalog as Disney+ to
fall back on,” said Sophie Lund-Yates, lead equity analyst at
Hargreaves Lansdown.
(Reporting by Dawn Chmielewski and Lisa Richwine in Los Angeles.
Editing by Gerry Doyle)
[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Oct/19/images/ads/current/charrons_bch_2022.png) |