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Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos.
Netflix is well known for using algorithms to determine what shows and movies people want to watch.
It turns out that the streaming giant also uses an algorithm to determine what it pays for exclusive content deals, according to a recent report from Business Insider's Jason Guerrasio.
Filmmaker Craig Atkinson told Guerrasio that Netflix offered to buy the exclusive rights to his new documentary "Do Not Resist," which examines the militarization of the police in the U.S. and the protests in Ferguson, Missouri, with an offer that was generated by an algorithm.
During the negotiation process earlier this year, Atkinson's lawyer was told by a Netflix lawyer that there was "no discussion to be had" about the price Netflix was offering because an "algorithm determined how much the film should be worth."
Atkinson ended up declining the offer from Netflix because of the alleged full creative control it wanted over editing and renaming the documentary.