PASADENA, Calif. — NBC's attempt to hack Netflix's ratings was, as you might imagine, not the streaming giant's favorite move.

Especially, Netflix COO Ted Sarandos told reporters Sunday, because the data delivered was "remarkably inaccurate."

"There's a couple of mysteries at play for me: One, why would NBC use their lunch slot with you guys to talk about our ratings? Maybe because it's more fun than talking about NBC ratings," Sarandos said, referring to the lunch session with reporters in which the broadcast network released the much-talked about numbers. "The second is the methodology and the measurement and data itself doesn't reflect any sense of reality of anything we keep track of."

That is, in part, because the number released by NBC focused on the 18-49 sector of viewers, a demo that remains of great importance to advertisers. Netflix, as you know, does not have advertisers. In fact, Sarandos, speaking at the Television Critics Association press tour, said that demo "is so insignificant to us that I can't even tell you how many 18-49 members we have."

The numbers released by NBC on Wednesday, gathered through audio content recognition via Symphony Advanced Media, seemed to indicate (among other things) that Jessica Jones was watched by more people in the 18-49 demo than Master of None.

"I know it's a mystery, but I don't know why anyone would be spending so much time and energy," Sarandos said. "Given what I believe is remarkably inaccurate data, I hope no one is paying for it."

Netflix's longstanding decision to forego releasing streaming numbers is often a popular topic when Netflix heads gather in the same room with reporters. But Sarandos has more than once defended the decision by citing a lack of business-driven reasons to deliver ratings info. They don't have advertisers and their shows are, as Netflix has said, meant to service all types of audiences — big and small.

Longterm success of the series and their ability to sustain the attention of their intended audiences has always been most important to the streaming giant, because that means subscribers across many demos. Or, really, subscribers period. In short: it's all business.

That's why Sarandos says he's always put more emphasis on their net global subscriber number, as it means "people are finding value in how we're spending our content dollars by watching that content."

"Unlike every other presenter you've seen this week and last week, you can cancel Netflix with one click," he said. "If they're not watching, they will quit," he said.

There are times when stats do sneak out — like when Sarandos bragged about Ridiculous Six's streaming performance.

Sarandos joked that in those instances, it's a result of him "slipping." But more seriously, he said because original films are a newer initiative than their TV efforts, he wanted to "give people some sense that the investment was making sense." Plus, he added, "a movie with no box office is different than a show with no TV ratings."

"In other words, the window of time that the success or failure of a film is received is a very short window, sometimes as short as one week," he said.

The service's anti-ratings stance is a move often praised by its show creators, who note the difference between network numbers anxiety and life on Netflix where ignorance is bliss.

Orange is the New Black creator Jenji Kohan sees two sides to the coin, though.

"I want to know," she said after a panel for her show. "I want to know how many people are watching, I want to know who's watching. It's sort of a waste of time to speculate. But at the same time, the number thing can make you crazy, because then it's like the scale — you're watching it go up, watching it go down."

Kohan admits she's seen different versions of her show's numbers from "a lot of difference sources." ("While it's great to not have to worry about numbers, it is a problem when you're negotiating," she said.)

So what's her takeaway? "They all seem good, so I'm happy about that."