Netflix's co-CEO, Ted Sarandos, has come out in support of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Netflix endeavours. Despite the Duke and Duchess receiving widespread criticism, the CEO praised the Duchess' entrepreneurial prowess of selling the products featured on her show, which includes edible flowers and jam. "One thing we learned early with Meghan... she has remarkable influence -remarkable," he said, speaking on the Aspire with Emma Grede podcast. Ted then went on to Harry and Meghan's initial eponymous documentary, which launched in two parts in December 2022.
"And by the way, the documentary itself," he said, adding: "Was also one of the most watched documentaries we've ever had. So it was [...] successful in every measure. Now I don't think that you can have a consumer products business if you don't have a great entertainment business. So that's got to come first."
Ted's glowing verdict comes months after Meghan Markle's highly anticipated Netflix lifestyle program, With Love, Meghan, reportedly faced a challenging start, failing to break into the streaming giant's top 300 most-watched programmes for the first half of the year. According to BARB, Harry and Meghan was the most-watched premiere for a Netflix show in 2022 in the United Kingdom. It still holds the record for the biggest debut for a Netflix documentary, with a whopping 81.6 million hours watched on its first four days after being released in December 2022.
It comes shortly after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex extended their partnership with Netflix in a multi-year, first-look deal. The announcement put an end to the speculation that Prince Harry and Meghan were set to part ways with the streaming giant as their initial five-year deal comes to an end in September.
© JAKE ROSENBERG/NETFLIXAt the time, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, said: "We're proud to extend our partnership with Netflix and expand our work together to include the As Ever brand. My husband and I feel inspired by our partners who work closely with us and our Archewell Productions team to create thoughtful content across genres that resonates globally and celebrates our shared vision."
