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As competition for top talent intensifies, Netflix used its earnings results to send a message to Hollywoods talent: were the new star factory.
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings observed that the streaming giant has come a long way since it launched the original series, House of Cards, five years ago. This year, he noted, it collected 112 Emmy nominations for 40 of its shows, documentaries and specials, and tied the long dominant premium TV channel, HBO, for the most wins (23).
“Were also thrilled that Netflix has been a launching pad for a new generation of global stars like Millie Bobby Brown, Jacob Elordi, Noah Centineo and Gaten Matarazzo,” said Hastings. “When our service helps our talent develop huge fan bases … we can attract the best talent in the world.”
Netflix took the extraordinary step of charting the social media ascent of its young stars of Stranger Things, The Kissing Booth, To All The Boys Ive Loved Before and Ridiculousness (a Jedi move for a service that wont share actual streaming data with the shows creators).
“This explosive growth in popularity is a good indicator that our shows and stars are breaking out around the planet,” Hastings wrote in his note to investors.
Hastings appeared to be signaling to talent to keep thinking of Netflix, as rivals WarnerMedia, the soon-to-be merged Disney/Fox and tech giant Apple launch their own streaming services. These new entrants add to an already crowded entertainment space occupied by established media companies and entrenched online players like Googles YouTube.
“Amid these massive competitors on both sides, plus traditional media firms, our job is to make Netflix stand out so that when consumers have free time, they choose to spend it with our service,” said Hastings.
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