Netflix co-CEO and big homie Ted Sarandos sat down with Variety for a killer interview. Ted covered a lot—Netflix’s content strategy, its biggest hits, and how the company has survived multiple near-death moments.
But the best part? The subtle yet sharp jabs at the competition.
Apple TV+? A Marketing Play—And That Might Be Just Fine
When asked about Apple TV+, Sarandos didn’t hold back:
“I don’t understand it beyond a marketing play, but they’re really smart people. Maybe they see something we don’t.”
Turns out, he’s really not wrong. A new report from The Information just confirmed that Apple TV+ is bleeding over $1 billion annually despite boasting 45 million subscribers and cutting its content budget by $500 million last year. That’s a lot of red ink for a company that doesn’t usually tolerate losses.
But here’s the thing—Apple TV+ was never built to be the next Netflix. It doesn’t have the scale. It doesn’t have a back catalog of legacy IP. And it doesn’t need to turn a profit. What it does have is an ecosystem.
Every Ted Lasso, every Killers of the Flower Moon, and every exclusive MLB game isn’t just about driving subscriptions—it’s about keeping users locked into Apple One, streaming through Apple devices, and spending money on Apple’s $26.3 billion-a-quarter Services division. In that context, a billion-dollar streaming loss is just the cost of doing business.
The question is—how long is Apple willing to eat that cost? It already pulled back spending in 2024, and with streaming bundles becoming the norm (hello, Disney+/Hulu/Max mashups), Apple either needs to scale up or find a better way to justify the burn rate.
Because right now, Apple is effectively paying Hollywood a billion dollars a year to keep its ecosystem sticky. Even for Apple, that’s a pricey marketing strategy.
Max Should’ve Just Been HBO—And We’ve Seen This Movie Before
Sarandos also had thoughts on Warner Bros. Discovery’s decision to drop “HBO” from HBO Max and rebrand it as Max. And yeah, he’s baffled like the rest of us.
“I would have never guessed HBO would have gone away. They put all that effort into one thing that they can tell the consumer—it should be HBO.”
Funny enough, about seven years ago, I had a contrarian take: I thought HBO (though I didn’t directly call them out at the time in this article) was at risk of losing relevance in the market. . Most of my colleagues didn’t want to hear it.
Then something changed. Under WarnerMedia and Jason Kilar, HBO started making bold moves—yes, aside from the same-day release stuff we won’t get into. Suddenly, HBO wasn’t just the home of Sunday-night prestige—it was evolving, expanding, and proving it could be a major player in streaming.
And then? WBD came in and effectively sabotaged all of it. Instead of doubling down on one of the most valuable brands in entertainment, they dropped HBO entirely in favor of… Max.
The result? Confusion, dilution, and a branding nightmare that feels more like a corporate committee decision than a strategy. I know your former Showtime counterparts share your pain, Ted—just ask Paramount how that rebrand worked out.
While Hollywood Watches Netflix, YouTube Plays Its Own Game
But let’s remember something here. Every moment legacy media spends obsessing over Netflix—analyzing it, admiring it, trying to be it—YouTube keeps expanding its grip on actual TV audiences.
Netflix built its empire on the backs of legacy media’s content. YouTube never had to. It just lets the entire world upload everything, and now, YouTube is TV.
Sarandos had plenty to say about his competition, and he wasn’t wrong. But the real story? While Hollywood fixates on Netflix, YouTube is playing an entirely different game. And winning.
