Cannes Lions announces Ted Sarandos, Co-CEO, Netflix is 2022 Entertainment Person of the Year

Netflix will also speak on stage at Cannes Lions for the first time when Sarandos is presented his award in person.

Cannes Lions has announced Ted Sarandos, Co-CEO, Netflix, as the 2022 Entertainment Person of the Year. Presented in recognition of the vital role that entertainment plays in the marketing and communications landscape, the award celebrates the creativity that inspires others to produce truly compelling, meaningful and entertaining content.

Sarandos will be presented with the award at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, live Awards Show, on Thursday, 23 June 2022.

Netflix will also speak on stage at Cannes Lions for the first time. Sarandos will join “Sway” podcast host and The New York Times Opinion writer Kara Swisher in the Lumiere Theatre (Thursday 23 June, 11:30 - 12:00) to discuss creativity, the need for constant innovation and the future of entertainment with MediaLink CEO Michael Kassan. Hear how the global streaming platform intends to keep entertaining the world by betting big on TV series, documentaries, feature films and mobile games.

Philip Thomas, Chairman of Cannes Lions, comments, “We’re delighted to honour Ted Sarandos with this year’s Entertainment Person of the Year accolade. He is a leading creative force, who has developed a body of truly compelling content at Netflix, transforming the creative landscape over the last decade.”

Founded in 1997, the Netflix subscription-based streaming service offers award-winning TV series, documentaries, feature films and mobile games across a wide variety of genres and languages to its members around the world.

Sarandos is the second entertainment luminary to collect the distinguished award, after Saturday Night Live producer, Lorne Micheals, collected the inaugural accolade at the 2019 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

The full Cannes Lions Speaker Programme - running from 20-24 June 2022 - is now live. The Festival content programme and new Global Councils of Progress will help the global community to understand and contribute to the industry's - and the world's - most pressing challenges. Across six priority areas: Sustainability; Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; Data and Technology; Brand Creativity and Effectiveness; Talent; and Business Transformation.