# Theodore Anthony Sarandos Jr.
> Co-Chief Executive Officer at netflix
- Profile type: Person
- Profile status: comprehensive
- Last updated: 2026-05-04T00:00:00.000Z
- Canonical URL: https://thestateofstreaming.com/people/ted-sarandos/
- Also known as: Theodore Sarandos, Ted Sarandos Jr., Theodore Anthony Sarandos, Netflix CEO, Netflix Co-CEO
## Summary
Ted Sarandos is co-CEO of Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX), sharing the role with Greg Peters since January 2023. He joined Netflix in 2000, became Chief Content Officer in 2013, and greenlit the originals strategy that began with House of Cards. As co-CEO he oversees content, studios, and marketing — while Peters leads product and technology. Netflix is targeting roughly $3 billion in ad revenue in 2026.

## Profile facts

- Current title: Co-Chief Executive Officer
- Current company: netflix (https://thestateofstreaming.com/companies/netflix/)


## Career trajectory

- 2000-03-01 — Vice President, Content Acquisition at netflix. Joined Netflix from Video City/West Coast Video, where he had been VP of product and merchandising.
- 2013-02-01 — Chief Content Officer at netflix. Led launch of Netflix originals — House of Cards (Feb. 2013), Arrested Development, Orange Is the New Black.
- 2020-07-16 — Co-CEO and Chief Content Officer at netflix. Promoted to co-CEO alongside Reed Hastings; retained CCO role.
- 2023-01-19 — Co-CEO at netflix. Co-CEO arrangement reorganized: Hastings becomes Executive Chairman; Greg Peters elevated from COO to co-CEO; Bela Bajaria succeeds Sarandos as Chief Content Officer.


## Media appearances

- 2022-06-22 — keynote: Cannes Lions 2022: Ted Sarandos on Netflix's ad-supported future, Cannes Lions / Deadline coverage (https://deadline.com/2022/06/netflix-ads-commercials-dave-chapelle-ricky-gervais-ted-sarandos-controversies-cannes-lions-1235050577/)
- 2024-05-25 — podcast: The Interview: Ted Sarandos's Plan to Get You to Binge Even More, The New York Times — The Daily / The Interview (Lulu Garcia-Navarro) (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-interview-ted-sarandoss-plan-to-get-you-to-binge/id1200361736?i=1000656722305)
- 2025-09-22 — interview: Ted Sarandos on risk, the Meghan Markle partnership and the future of streaming, The Viewers Perspective (https://theviewersperspective.com/2025/09/22/netflix-ted-sarandos-interview/)
- 2025-09-01 — podcast: Aspire with Emma Grede: From Video Store to Netflix Co-CEO, Aspire with Emma Grede (https://open.spotify.com/episode/2gl1M29mc3d4KqenOOrKeg)
- 2025-10-23 — podcast: Ted Sarandos: Netflix and how tech changed storytelling, Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith (Microsoft) (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ted-sarandos-netflix-and-how-tech-changed-storytelling/id1632459165?i=1000733162006)
- 2026-04-16 — interview: Netflix Q1 2026 earnings call, Netflix Investor Relations / Seeking Alpha transcript (https://seekingalpha.com/article/4891416-netflix-inc-nflx-q1-2026-earnings-call-transcript)

_This page uses only public-professional information (roles, public statements, media appearances)._

## Key facts

- Sarandos has been co-CEO of Netflix since January 19, 2023, when co-founder Reed Hastings stepped down from the co-CEO role and Greg Peters was elevated to share the top job alongside him. — Netflix corporate newsroom: https://about.netflix.com/en/news/leadership-update
- Sarandos joined Netflix in 2000 after meeting co-founder Reed Hastings in 1999, and ran the company's content operations for two decades before being promoted to co-CEO in July 2020. — Netflix Investor Relations leadership page: https://ir.netflix.net/governance/Leadership-and-directors/person-details/default.aspx?ItemId=20b41d5b-2378-440d-821b-ae5ba3fa370b
- He greenlit House of Cards in a March 2011 deal valued at roughly $100 million for two seasons, establishing Netflix's model of buying multiple seasons of premium series without a pilot order — the foundation of the originals strategy that launched in 2013. — Wikipedia: Ted Sarandos: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Sarandos
- On the April 16, 2026 Q1 earnings call, Sarandos framed Netflix's failed Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition pursuit as a competence-building exercise, telling analysts that the bidding war built Netflix's 'M&A muscle.' — TheWrap: https://www.thewrap.com/industry-news/business/ted-sarandos-wbd-bidding-war-takeaway-q1-2026-earnings-call/
- Sarandos publicly addressed Reed Hastings' April 2026 board departure on the Q1 2026 earnings call, telling analysts the exit was unrelated to the failed Warner Bros. Discovery deal and that Hastings had been 'a big champion for that deal.' — Deadline: https://deadline.com/2026/04/ted-sarandos-reaction-reed-hastings-netflix-exit-1236863588/
- Netflix's 2026 ad-revenue guide of roughly $3 billion — roughly double the 2025 figure — was framed by Sarandos and co-CEO Greg Peters on the April 16, 2026 earnings call; the advertiser base grew more than 70 percent year-over-year to more than 4,000 advertisers. — Netflix Q1 2026 earnings call transcript (Seeking Alpha): https://seekingalpha.com/article/4891416-netflix-inc-nflx-q1-2026-earnings-call-transcript
- Sarandos was named one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People in 2013, the year Netflix launched its first original series. — Time 100: https://time100.time.com/2013/04/18/time-100/slide/ted-sarandos/
- He received the Producers Guild of America Milestone Award in 2019 and was named Cannes Lions Entertainment Person of the Year in 2022, the year Netflix first attended the festival as it opened the door to advertising on the service. — The Hollywood Reporter: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/netflix-ted-sarandos-cannes-lions-2022-entertainment-person-year-1235161946/
- At Cannes Lions in June 2022 — Netflix's first appearance at the global advertising festival — Sarandos publicly confirmed Netflix was in talks with multiple partners to introduce an ad-supported tier, foreshadowing the November 2022 launch of the ad plan. — Deadline: https://deadline.com/2022/06/netflix-ads-commercials-dave-chapelle-ricky-gervais-ted-sarandos-controversies-cannes-lions-1235050577/


## Related

- netflix (co-CEO) — https://thestateofstreaming.com/companies/netflix/
- greg peters (co-CEO counterpart) — https://thestateofstreaming.com/people/greg-peters/
- reed hastings (predecessor as co-CEO; outgoing executive chairman) — https://thestateofstreaming.com/people/reed-hastings/
- spencer neumann (Netflix CFO) — https://thestateofstreaming.com/people/spencer-neumann/
- amy reinhard (Netflix President of Advertising) — https://thestateofstreaming.com/people/amy-reinhard/


## External coverage

- Netflix Investor Relations: Ted Sarandos — Netflix Investor Relations leadership page (https://ir.netflix.net/governance/Leadership-and-directors/person-details/default.aspx?ItemId=20b41d5b-2378-440d-821b-ae5ba3fa370b)
- 2020-07-16 — Netflix corporate newsroom: Ted Sarandos Appointed Co-CEO of Netflix (https://about.netflix.com/en/news/leadership-update)
- Variety: Ted Sarandos — Variety500 executive profile (https://variety.com/exec/ted-sarandos/)
- Fast Company: Inside Netflix's Co-CEO arrangement — and why it works (https://www.fastcompany.com/91177003/netflix-ceo-co-ted-sarandos-greg-peters-culture-coach)
- 2026-04-16 — TheWrap: Ted Sarandos says Warner Bros. bidding war built Netflix's 'M&A muscle' (https://www.thewrap.com/industry-news/business/ted-sarandos-wbd-bidding-war-takeaway-q1-2026-earnings-call/)
- 2026-04-17 — Variety: Netflix Co-CEOs Praise Reed Hastings as He Sets Exit (https://variety.com/2026/tv/news/netflix-ceos-praise-reed-hastings-selfless-disciplined-graceful-1236724101/)

## Profile
Sarandos is the Hollywood-and-content half of Netflix's two-headed leadership. Greg Peters runs product, technology, the ads stack, and game development; Sarandos runs the slate, the studios relationships, and the publicly-facing strategy on what Netflix is willing to spend money to make. The split has held without visible friction since January 2023 and has now survived both Reed Hastings's full disengagement from operations and a high-profile failed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.

His public posture on the ad tier — first signaled at Cannes Lions in 2022, before the launch — has hardened into the throughline of every quarterly cycle: the ad plan is the growth engine, scale is compounding (4,000-plus advertisers, more than 60 percent of new sign-ups in ads-available markets), and Netflix expects to roughly double ad revenue to $3 billion in 2026. Sarandos's contribution to that narrative is the demand side — convincing the talent and the studios that ad-supported Netflix is still the same Netflix.
## Coverage on The State of Streaming
- [Netflix Bolts a Discovery Feed Onto Itself, and the Ad-Load Math Comes With It](https://thestateofstreaming.com/content-programming/2026/05/netflix-clips-vertical-video-discovery-war/) — 2026-05-03
- [Netflix Authorizes $25B Buyback After $5.09B FCF Quarter](https://thestateofstreaming.com/platforms/2026/04/netflix-q1-2026-buyback-ad-tier/) — 2026-04-25
- [WBD Shareholders Approve Paramount Merger 99% to 1%](https://thestateofstreaming.com/business-deals/2026/04/wbd-paramount-shareholder-vote/) — 2026-04-25

## Tags

- executive
- co-ceo
- streaming
- ad-tier

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