Netflix Exec: 'Paramount Movies..That Means Nothing To Consumers'

The UBS Global Media and Communications Conference in New York is the last major media conference of the year and it's seen as the place where big media executives get to sound off one last time about their issues of interest before the year ends.

Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos made an appearance on Monday and he had a lot to say. Although other than putting a slightly new spin on the "Will Netflix air live sports?" question, most of what he talked about is familiar to anyone who follows the company.

Here are the highlights from his talk:

* He detailed the 31 original series and 10 feature films slated to be on the streaming menu next year. Netflix is set to spend close to $5 billion on original content in 2016, and Sarandos spoke especially highly of THE CROWN, a show about about the story of Queen Elizabeth II and her rise to the crown and THE GETDOWN from director Baz Luhrmann. He also touted the company's two upcoming multi-camera sitcoms, THE RANCH and the FULL HOUSE spin-off FULLER HOUSE.

* He argued that rather than focusing on arbitrary measurements such as "ratings," investors should judge the company on its subscriber growth. At the end of the third quarter, Netflix had 69.2 million subscribers around the world, of which 66 million are paid; it has nearly 24 million paid subscribers outside the United States.

"Obviously, they (subscribers) stick with it (Netflix) because of the ease of use and amazing user interface, and when you push play, it just works everywhere in the world. They are attracted to that programming."

* Sarandos talked a length about Netflix's continuing global expansion. He told the conference the company is happy with the results, but that convincing studios to issue a global licnese for their content hasd been a challenge."

"I don't know if it's more difficult than I expected, but it has not been an easy road," he explained. "The studios are situated regionally in licensing. We are now a global buyer of rights for a show. There is some resistance to this, mostly from the regional sellers, who don't want their jobs marginalized. We are navigating the politics. It's a big change."

* Sarandos also said that the days of outsized studio output deals are over at Netflix, except in very specific situations. "Disney is a solely differentiated brand from movie studios -- if we say we have the Star Wars movies, we have The Avengers, we have Disney-animated studios, that means something to consumers," Sarandos said. "If we say we have Paramount movies, that means nothing to consumers."

* Sarandos once again dismissed rumors the company might move into live sports. He said the company is unwilling to pay the high prices for live sports and that Netflix doesn't think it would add anything of value to its customers.

"This comes up because Netflix is seen as a substitute for cable," he told the conference. "People are frustrated. But making it on demand doesn't add anything for the viewer. The other problem is that leagues have all the pricing power. If there was a model where we create our own sports league, that would be interesting."

* There was a strong endorsement of the company's deal with Adam Sandler, with Sarandos arguing that the much-maligned actor "is a global superstar just emerging in Latin America."