Netflix Founder Steps Down As CEO Amid Major Staffing Shake-Ups
By Movieguide® Contributor
Netflix founder Reed Hastings has announced that he will step away from his role as CEO of the major streaming platform.
Hastings will remain chairman of Netflix, while co-CEO Ted Sarandos will stay on in his current position. Greg Peters, who served as COO, will step into Hastings’ role as co-CEO.
“I want to thank Reed for his visionary leadership, mentorship and friendship over the last 20 years,” Sarandos said in a statement about Hastings’ departure. “We’ve all learned so much from his intellectual rigor, honesty and willingness to take big bets — and we look forward to working with him for many more years to come.”
Hastings tweeted that he plans to stay on as chairman “for many years to come.”
Hastings co-founded Netflix in 1997. Sarandos was promoted to co-CEO in 2020 at the time Peters was made COO. It’s unknown yet who Netflix plans to make COO.
In addition to this major change, Bela Bajaria, who previously served as the global head of television, will become chief content officer. Scott Stuber, former head of global film, will become the chairman of Netflix Film.
These staffing switch-ups come along with Netflix’s fourth quarter earnings report. The streaming service exceeded revenue expectations and added millions more subscribers than anticipated.
This success comes after rumors of upheaval at Netflix and dropping subscriber numbers. Movieguide® previously reported on their attempts to turn things around:
Netflix has just announced the launch of its ad-supported plan, which will be available for $7 a month.
The lower-priced package will launch on Nov. 3 in the U.S. and 11 other countries, including Japan and Brazil.
Users will have 4-5 minutes of ads per hour of content they watch. Additionally, there is some content that won’t be available because Netflix does not have the rights to show the programs with commercials.
For comparison, Netflix’s Basic package is $10 a month, while Standard plans go for $15.50 and Premium plans are $20. The higher-priced plans give viewers the ability to watch Netflix on more screens and the option to watch content to Ultra HD.
While Netflix has built its company off of the fact that users don’t have to watch commercials, this new move is a bid to boost revenue as the platform flounders.
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