Theodore Anthony Sarandos Jr. is the co-chief executive officer and chief content officer for Netflix. He was appointed as the co-CEO of Netflix on July 17 2020, by Founder and co-CEO of Netflix Reed Hastings. After founding Netflix in 1997, Reed hired Ted Sarandos, his first and only head of content in 1999. In the era of "the streaming wars," Netflix has become the granddaddy of the digital entertainment era, with the most successful series, movies and greatest number of Emmys and Oscars in contrast to other competing brands.
Ted Sarandos joined Netflix in 2000, he has been responsible for all content operations at Netflix since 2000, and led the company's transition into original content production that began in 2013, with the launch of the series House of Cards, Arrested Development and Orange Is the New Black, among numerous others.
Sarandos spent hours in his childhood, watching TV shows like I Love Lucy, The Jack Benny Program and The Andy Griffith Show. Gradually, in his teens, he developed a knowledge of film and TV, and strong instincts for what people liked while working at a video store.
In his school days, he interviewed the actor Ed Asner, who then introduced Sarandos to others in the entertainment industry, for further interviews and connected his interests in entertainment, politics, and journalism. In 1983, Sarandos was promoted to store manager of the Arizona Video Cassettes West chain and managed 8 retail video stores until 1988. In the same year, he became Western Regional Director of Sales and Operations for one of the largest video distributors in the United States, East Texas Distributors (ETD).
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Until March 2000, Sarandos was Vice President of Product and Merchandising for almost 500 store chains, Video City/West Coast Video. While he was working at West Coast Video, he was responsible for negotiating revenue deals to migrate the company from the VHS format into the DVD format.
In 1999, Sarandos met Netflix founder and co-CEO Reed Hastings, and joined Hastings venture in 2000. He serves as its Co-Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chief Content Officer (CCO), overseeing Netflix's original programming and entertainment efforts. Additionally, he is also a member of the Peabody Awards board of directors, which is presented by the University of Georgia's Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. Under the leadership of Sarandos, Netflix received 54 Primetime Emmy Awards nominations in 2016.
Sarandos was born on 30 July 1964, in Phoenix, Arizona. His father was Ted Sarandos Sr, an electrician, and his mother was a homemaker. He is brother to 3 older sisters and one younger brother. He is married twice, he and his first wife, Michelle Sarandos, the couple has two children, Sarah and Tony, both graduates of Beverly Hills High School. And in 2009, Sarandos married former United States Ambassador to the Bahamas (2009–2011), Nicole Avant.
