Netflix Replaces Bela Bajaria as Chief Content Officer

Bela Bajaria, Netflix’s chief content officer and a senior executive there for the last decade, is leaving the streaming service immediately, the company announced on Thursday.

Peter Rice, a former Fox and Disney executive, will take over as chief content officer next week, Netflix said.

The company made the abrupt, major leadership change as it confronts stalling engagement figures and slowing growth. A day earlier, Netflix laid off roughly 1,000 people, its biggest round of job cuts since 2022.

Netflix made an aggressive push late last year to buy Warner Bros. Discovery’s studio and streaming business, but lost to Paramount Skydance in a bidding war. (Skydance, which is run by David Ellison, absorbed all of Warner Bros. Discovery last week, for $111 billion.) Over the last 12 months, Netflix’s share price has dropped nearly 40 percent.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/15/business/media/netflix-bela-bajaria-peter-rice.html