Netflix fires chief content officer Bela Bajaria after 10 years
Netflix fired chief content officer Bela Bajaria after 10 years and replaced her with Peter Rice.
Netflix fired Bela Bajaria, who had been its chief content officer for the past decade. Peter Rice was named as her replacement.
Rice previously worked as Disney's entertainment chairman and as a Fox executive. The industry widely respects him.
This move comes as Netflix gets ready to report Q3 earnings next Tuesday. Industry people told Variety the firing felt like scapegoating.
Bajaria built Netflix's global presence. She opened almost two dozen international offices.
She led investments in local-language productions. She also championed live entertainment deals with WWE and the NFL.
These deals became major draws for Netflix's ad-supported subscribers. Some observers believe the real problem is somewhere else.
Netflix's main way to grow revenue is by raising subscriber prices. The company is growing just 2% year-over-year.
- 10 years as chief content officer
- Bajaria tenure
- Almost two dozen
- International offices opened
- 2 percent year-over-year
- Netflix growth rate
- Peter Rice
- New content chief
Why it mattersThe firing shows Netflix wants to make big changes. It's trying to handle its slowest growth in years. Industry observers are worried, though. They think replacing the content chief won't fix the real business problems.
AustraliaNetflix Australia subscribers may face price increases as the company struggles with growth, and the streaming wars may shift if Netflix's content strategy changes under new leadership.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 2 h ago
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