I'm Emily Chang, and this is the circuit.
Today.
We're on a film set like no other. We've landed in Columbia to visit Netflix's most ambitious Spanish language project yet, one Hundred Years of Solitude, the book by the famous author Gabrielle Garcia Marquez, is being adapted into a series for the first time. There's a cast of thousands involved, including director Alex Garcia Lopez.
Do you think this can be a global hit?
I don't know.
I mean, I think you do a project and then once you finish it, it kind of goes out there and has its own life.
I think Netflix in the last few years are taking a big gamble in a very good way. Netflix has been pouring money into productions outside the United States, leading to a string of international breakout hits like Squid Game from South Korea, Lupin from France, and Roma from Mexico.
Hollywood is always traditionally exported content. People have seen those stories, they love those stories. And now what I think is rate is that we have provided access for lots of different languages and genres to be exported around the world.
At the forefront of turning Netflix into a window for the world is Bella Bajaria, a London born executive who turned down fame to work behind the scenes. The former Miss India Worldwide landed a job as an assistant at CBS and climbed her way up. Now she's leading the Netflix team that's delivered award winning shows like Wednesday, Beef and Dahmer, but increasingly she's betting the show is on
the road. On this edition of The Circuit, I sit down with Netflix Chief Content Officer Bella Bajaria to talk about the company's global strategy. You are through the ranks in traditional broadcast networks, then you started running international for Netflix than all of global TV. Now you're running all of content. Tell us a little bit about your background and how does that inform your philosophy on content today.
So I'm Indian and lived in Zambia and in Africa and in London when I was younger, and moved to America as an immigrant, and I grew up watching Bollywood movies. I grew up watching different British content, and I was always exposed to lots of different things from different countries. And when I moved to the US, I really didn't understand really American culture, and at that point I had a British accent, and so I watched a lot of TV and film one to lose the accent and two
to really try to understand American culture. And so the power of seeing yourself or not ever seeing yourself is a really personal thing for me. Hollywood has always traditionally exported content. People have seen those stories, they love those stories. And now what I think is great is that we have provided access for lots of different languages and genres to be exported around the world and have local storytelling.
It's a very powerful thing to see yourself represented on screen and to see your culture for explored and so specifically nuances or culture or your country. And we do that in all of these countries with local, authentic storytelling. And if you really think about it, traditionally to see something in non English film that used to be like in an art house film that if your city had an art house, you know, theater, and sometimes it was
a drive if you were going to do that. And now just the access to be able to watch The Crown and scroll right over and watch the Glory from Career, or watch the upland for France is all they are in. Providing that kind of access is an extraordinary thing. And for me it feels very full circle from not being seen or not feeling seen on TV and entertainment, but also really learning American culture through television and film.
You're in charge of content. That's a huge job.
How do you decide what millions of people around the world want to watch?
So it is a huge job, but it's a really fun job. And it's interesting because people have these always about the audience, right, and people around the world, and everybody has different tastes in different moods, right, even for you personally, Right, sometimes you're in the mood for a comedy and sometimes you're in the mood for an immersive drama.
Having the teams around the world in all of these countries, because there's local creative executives who work with local creative ecosystems, with writers and producers and in their language, and really sort of look at what does the audience want? Right, And it really starts with a writer walks in the door.
The one thing that is consistent around the world, it doesn't matter what language it is in A filmmaker writer walks in the door, they pitch something and it's the gut and judgment and intuition of creative executives who just there's something special in that tone. There's something really specific in that voice. Audience will love it. It's bold, it's original, it's fresh. You just feel something, and that's really how
you decide. It's definitely art, not science. But there's no other way than just that human connection of listening to a story.
That's interesting because I think so many people think because of technology, because of algorithms. There is a lot of science to it. So how much is it an algorithm versus intuition?
Oh, it's very intuition.
Look, and I think there's always you know, data they can give you, they can inform you. You know, there's renewal things in lots of different way things you can look at it.
But the what's the.
Next thing to greenlight a film or a TV show is all art and creative and gut and judgment. There's not an algorithm in the world that would say, you know, you should really make a show about road rage that turns into really a show about human connection and loneliness like beef actually really explored, or you should really make a period show about a woman playing chess. There's no
way that anybody can say, like, that's the formula. It really is relationships and just gut and judgment and intuition. And I think think having also that we have twenty seven local country offices and creative executives who speak the language, are from the culture, who can really understand the nuances, and so they can really connect with a writer filmmaker to decide what to make an X. There is no other way to greenlight the next best, great thing.
So what is the formula for an ideal Netflix show?
So I find it really funny when people ask me, because people do ask me, you know, what is a Netflix show or what is a Netflix movie? And in a way, I think it's an old fashioned question because I think people are used to like a narrow programming of a specific network that really has a very specific demographic or they have a kind of a certain lane
that they program, and we don't do that. We have over two hundred and fifty million accounts around the world across so many countries, and no other company has really, you know, aspired to make this much great film and TV around the world in so many languages, across so many genres and We're trying to entertain people with various backgrounds, various demos in different countries.
Our businesses.
We make film and TV and that's the core of what we do. And if you like something because you find something, you discover something and you're in the mood for that and you love it and you recommend it and then you come back to me, that's the ideal experience.
I've heard you use this term super serve before. What does that mean to me?
That means somebody in your house loves unscripted shows and they like to watch dating shows and they play on Love Is Blind. That really super serves that need, right, that audience loves dating shows, that audience likes unscripted, or they discover something new, but it's something that really meets you where you are in that kind of mood or need. People have so many different days, like last year in
twenty twenty three was interesting, too hot to handle. Germany was number one, as was all quite on the Western front. Very different, so different, very different people love.
One or of the other and many people love both.
And to understand that audiences have a wide range of taste in moods, So to me, it's super serving you know those needs.
Latin America is the first place Netflix started making originals a decade ago. What's different today after being there for you know, ten plus years.
So our first non English show that we did in the original when we really we were going to start expanding into originals outside of English was clebdor Crevos, which is twenty fifteen. And Latin America's had your rich history of storytelling and so many great movies and TV shows, and there's great creative ecosystem there and what's been great is just to see.
It continue to grow and to continue to.
Expand the variety and quality of what we do. And slowly it was opening the Mexico City office and opening Brazil and hiring local teams there and that means local cre of executives and local production executives and really having people on the ground who speak the language, who come from the culture, and to really work locally in that community. And that's taking time to build and grow and have
that maturity in that market that way for us. And what I think is so exciting to see this year in twenty twenty four is that this year Latin America is making at the same time, which is really fun and challenging. Three of the most ambitious projects that we have ever taken on in Latin America, and that's your hundred Years of Solitude in Columbia, which is just beloved, but just trying to tell that story and the scope of that story is just a really big, ambitious production
to take on. And you know, in Brazil doing Senna, the most famous beloved Brazilian athlete there and it's been interesting because we've had Formula one drive to survive and really being able to grow the fandom of that sport also, but to tell that story of Senna and his life and a life cut way too short, but to recreate races and that period aspect of that, you know, has
been an incredible challenge but so rewarding. Elled turn Onto is again in such beloved comic and an IP I say ambitious in the one sense that they're Varya beloved stories and really important IP and characters and a story that people really love and feel a connection to, and the responsibility of wanting to do that really well. And then on the other side of the ambition of just actually sheer scope and scale, which is a lot but very exciting.
How ambitious is Macondo on the scale of other Netflix projects. What gave you the confidence that this should be the project?
You know, there was a lot of passion around it and a lot of thoughtfulness. Have a whole team as far as our executives and the producers and director and everybody involves.
This is so special and it's.
Taken us a long time to really figure out how to put it together, how to actually tell that story over that time, and look, it's always a little scary. There's confidence in it, for sure, because I think we have a thing. We just have so many talented people, but there's also a real passion and pride of really capturing this and doing justice really to the material. And so it was always scary going in and I'm sure
Paco Bay have told you that along the way. But it's also one of those stories and it's just sort of all three of these in Latin America that we're doing that were we just have to have this, We have to tell the story. Audiences are going to love it, like the Swing is. It's a big one, but it's so inspiring and it's exciting, and it just felt like our audiences would love it, and it was just one of those that we just had to have.
Is the goal a local hit or a global hit?
The goal is always a local hit. So the goal always starts with very specific, authentic storytelling. And what you want is you want people in that country and in that language to love it that really resonates with them.
It's very relevant.
I still really believe the more specific and authentic something is, the more universal it actually is. And I think when people set out to make a global hit, you try to make something for everyone, and so you make something for no one. And so the idea of really resonating locally is the most important thing. And we've seen that time and time again with the shows that have resonated.
They were made for their country.
There were made such local storytelling, there is such cultural specificity and nuances that really resonated with that country, and then it just ended up connecting with a larger audience and word of mouth and conversation. And we've seen that happen time and time again.
How much is Netflix spending on content in Latin America and how does that compare to other regions.
We have great investment in Latin America, you know, we have a big global content budget that we spend, you know, and we also have a wide range if you think about between nonfiction and docs and scripted and scripted and films around the world in different languages. So there's really investment in different countries. Latin America has always you know, because we've also been there the longest outside of you know, the US, so that's always had like a very healthy investment.
So take us around the world. Where are you really leaning in?
Where do you see the most potential Beyond Latin America?
Okay, we have twenty seven local country offices, betweens teams, they're making local things. We also make TV shows and movies and fifty different languages in fifty different countries. There's so many things in these countries, and so it hasn't been so much that this one place has more potential
than the other. When Japan is looking at, you know, what's an amazing slate and taking a mix of live action and film and anime and taking sort of manga I and adopting that sometimes they do in Japan, we also do it in the US, you know, so they can look at their slate that way. The one thing that is consistent is there's an amazing storytelling at all of those places, and that's actually the one.
Real consistent thing around the world.
It doesn't matter which language you're doing it in, how do you find the next best film or series. Take India, for example, so they can watch things in self languages or Hindy. They also watch English content, but they also love lacasa papel, so they watched Spanish things and they love crank content. So it's not even my language in English, it's this language and lots of different around the world.
And so what I think has just been amazing to see is the growth in many of these different countries outside of the US.
People seem to be getting over subtitles like would you Agree? And I wonder is Netflix behind that?
Look.
I think Netflix has really offered this access several years ago. I guess now it is. A director Bong at the Oscars had said, if people and when he won for Parasite, he said, if people could get over those one inch subtitles, there's a whole worlds out there of amazing storytelling. And I think if your experiences, Okay, I'm going to go to an art house theater and I'm going to try to find this non English film, and I'm going to put all this effort and I'm going to go past the subtitles.
For sure, there's that.
Now, wh's just the access is there.
I think we've really.
Shown globally that with specific, authentic storytelling, coupled with great subtitles and dubbing, with good recommendations and easy discovery, that a story can come from anywhere and excited audience everywhere.
Your strategy has been pretty unique for a US based streamer. Why is Netflix going so much more global than your competitors.
I've worked in many different countries and historically have had lots of jobs in Hollywood and linear networks and studios, and I think there was a really dimess focus and then you sell later after the fact, right, you sell, you can tell your title internationally. We're a local service and people in their homes Coulid play and we're in one hundred and eighty countries. We were always going to do storytelling, you know, locally in that way. So that's always just been a big part of our business.
Best right, Well, that was my next question, like is it paying off?
Yes, but I say it's also understanding that people in different countries. It's also the investment in local storytelling. Right, So it takes time, and it's hard, and it takes effort to spend time in those places not have a Western lens on what that is. To really go to these countries, open the offices, meet with governments and local producers and local writers and understand each you know, local kind of creative ecosystem and so be close to the
storytelling each of these countries. And doing that has been with as much care and passion and interests in commitment and edication as the US was. And that's why we also did something which has been done before really in that way, is that it's very important to have local teams with decision making and budgets and green light authority in the country and who understood really the nuances of that community.
Producers in South Korea, governments in Europe have expressed concern that Netflix could become so successful and so powerful in some of these countries that it actually pushes out local media.
How do you respond to that.
All of what we make the investment in those countries provide lots of jobs and all local storytelling. It's local storytelling of people also exporting culture. If you think about it, when we make things on the ground of just behind the camera in front of the camera, the amount of production jobs. We also have a group Grow Creative that we do many training programs and pipeline programs to train
people in different a visual in the medium. And so there's a big commitment to our investment in these countries and the local economy which we've seen through just actually like jobs. And also what is hearts always quantify is exporting culture and the increase in tourism.
So what's your take on a state of the streaming wars broadly right now?
I don't think as a winner takes all type of situation. And you know, we've always had competition. There's competition everywhere in the world. So my job is as simple and hard as this. How do we make the best filming TV around the world consistently? How do we make sure you click play and you love what you watch and you come back. So that's really, you know, that's the focus for us. How do we do it across so many languages, across so many genres, How do we do
it well in every country? And to me, the focus for us, I mean that's the business wearing, that's all we do. That is the focus, which I really appreciate having this clear focus on entertainment and audiences, and so that is really I think for me, the one thing I can speak to is like continue to consistently work with the best creators around the world, push storytelling in a way that can be surprising and delightful and bold
and original and fresh. I mean, if you think about Latin America from twenty fifteen till now, some of these other countries, right, we've been really focusing on making originals the last three years and some five years and some you know, only like two years, so there's still just so much growth. And for me, really the focus is on that.
You know, we're talking so much about these other countries. Hollywood has been the center of global entertainment for century. Is Hollywood's position as the center of global entertainment under threat.
So hollywoods not going anywhere. There's great answery of storytelling here. That's not going anywhere. But I think once it's done, it's just opened up more. Who gets to tell the story? What kinds of stories do you tell? Who sees their stories represented? Who gets to tell those stories? And I think that's you know, an amazing thing. And I think this idea of there is just great storytelling all around the world and have people just have access to more of it and from different points of view.
After a huge push into original content, it does seem like Netflix is pulling back a little, reducing output a little.
Maybe what's the strategy.
Behind that or maybe stabilizing.
I don't think we're pulling back at all.
I does not feel like, get on this side, We're not. I think what you have to look at, which I think is so interesting, is that we started making more originals when expanding in different countries.
Then in certain countries where we had.
Done scripted, we started even expanding more into nonfiction in those countries and doing docs and unscripted, And you know, if you think about even in Europe and some of those countries. In France, we did a tour to France sports thing, we did Rhythm and Flow, and we started expanding into unscripted. Only seven years ago we've started building and expanded the entire unscripted group at Netflix. So for me, I think we're always expanding into new things.
So it costs so much money to make content at the level of people expect now and probably Netflix created that expectation are certainly played a huge role in it. Is the strategy sustainable.
Prices just kind of go up for lots of different reasons in lots of different ways, right, I mean, there's inflation, and this is different products, not just TV and film.
And I think you also have to.
Remember, like there's certain things that cost a lot because they're big in world building, and there's certain things that don't cause a lot because you know, they're smaller character or family dramas, and so it's not you know, to me,
it's definitely sustainable. The job is still always focusing on variety and quality and to understand that people really do have eclectic taste and they watch a wide breath of shows and films, and I think that pursuit of excellence and the pursuit originality and working with the best creators and filmmakers in the world, that is just always the focus and the goal, because people love entertainment and they want to be entertained, and it creates such conversation and
connection and it's such a fun thing to recommend and what are you watching and you hear them, So for me, that's really kind of that's the focus.
On how you sustain it. You work really close to with Ted Sarandos.
You're a co CEO who had this job before you had this job. You know, I'm curious what your partnership is like.
Ten and I have a very great relationship. I've worked for him for seven years at this point, and he offered me, first, you know, to come in and start unscripted, and then I said, you know, I haven't done that before, and he said, I don't care. I just have smart people. And so we've gone through a lot together and then he wanted me to go outside of the US and expand all of this. So we've worked very closely together.
And I'd say we have a shorthand, but I'd say why we work so well together is the one thing we definitely have in common is we're both fans of film and taving.
We're out jada by it.
We're not cynical, we love it. We're still excited about did you watch this?
And I think that.
Actual joy and appreciation, like we don't take it for granted. And I think that part that we both have really in common is why we work so well together. We just care a lot about the audiences and we care a lot about the talent and the team, but this excitement of just watching the next great thing is great.
The next five years. What is it like the last five years.
I think it's just consistently what Netflix to be always the destination of the home of working with the best talent around the world. And that means for people who work here to create an environment where they feel inspired and creative and can have fun. And if we can do that, that also provides that same environment for writers and directors and actors and filmmakers to come here and do their best work and you know, always continue to be original and bold and fresh and pushing sword telling
and be scared to take the next big swing. So for me and the next five years is you know, continuing to do this and in surprise and delight our audiences all the time.
I can't wait to keep watching.
Thank you, thank you, thanks so much for listening to this podcast edition of The Circuit. You can watch my visit to Latin America and the set of one hundred Years of Solitude and a few of Netflix's other sets by checking out the full video episode of the Circuit. It was such a beautiful journey full of so much color and culture and good food, and I'm so grateful to all of the people we met there. I'm Emily Chang. You can follow me on Twitter and Instagram at Emily
Chang TV. You can watch new episodes of the Circuit on Bloomberg Television or on demand by downloading the Bloomberg app to your smart TV or on YouTube, and check out other Bloomberg podcasts on Apple Podcasts, the iHeartMedia app, or wherever. You listen to your shows and let us know what you think by leaving.
Us a review.
I'm your host and executive producer. Our senior producers are Lauren Ellis and Alan Jeffries. Our associate producer is Tyler Kotta. Our editor is Alison Casey. Thanks so much for listening.