Netflix has replaced its chief content officer Bela Bajaria with Hollywood veteran Peter Rice in a major leadership shake-up as the streaming group seeks to reverse its declining share price and reaccelerate viewership growth. Bajaria, who has worked at the company for nearly a decade and has overseen its global film and television slate since 2023, is leaving. Rice, a former senior executive at Disney and Fox, will take up the role on October 26, Netflix said on Thursday.
The change follows Netflix's announcement that it would cut 6 per cent of its staff, or about 1,000 jobs, in its largest round of lay-offs in at least four years. The company has been grappling with slowing viewer engagement and investor pressure, and its shares have fallen 40 per cent over the past year. Its film and TV slate has lately struggled to produce cultural hits of the kind that once drove its growth, such as Stranger Things and Wednesday.
Ted Sarandos, Netflix's co-chief executive, said last month: "Overall, we're not growing as fast as I want us to, and we're working on making that move faster." The company's earlier attempt to buy Warner Bros Discovery was seen as a remedy for its programming challenges, though Paramount, now called Skydance, ultimately won that contest.
Rice previously oversaw Disney's TV operations, including ABC, FX, Hulu and its television studios, and was behind shows such as Modern Family and Abbott Elementary. Sarandos praised him as "one of the most effective at-scale operators in the entertainment industry." Netflix is set to report earnings on Tuesday.
Source: Financial Times Companies · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing