A reset presented to staff after investor scrutiny
Netflix co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters addressed employees at a town hall on Wednesday, one day after discussing mixed quarterly results with investors on the company's third-quarter earnings call. The meeting came after Netflix cut 1,000 jobs and reorganized its executive ranks, naming Peter Rice to replace Bela Bajaria as chief content officer and removing film head Dan Lin.[S1][S2]
According to accounts of the town hall, employees raised the sequence of events: the layoffs on Wednesday and Bajaria's exit on Thursday, which staff reportedly learned about through press reports before the company communicated it internally. Peters told the gathering that the job reductions were over for the foreseeable future.[S1]
Sarandos makes the case for Rice
Rice, who was not at the town hall and begins in the role next week, was promoted by Sarandos in much the same terms used on the earnings call. Sarandos described him as an unusual industry figure who has run television networks, film studios and streaming services, praising his creative judgment and business sense and calling him an operator who delivers quality and volume across network, prestige cable, streaming, theatrical and television films and live sports.[S1]
Sarandos repeated that emphasis because Rice is best known for his time as president of Fox Searchlight Pictures during the Slumdog Millionaire and Little Miss Sunshine era, as CEO of Fox Networks Group and as chairman of Walt Disney Television. That background prompted commentary after his appointment about a traditional-media executive taking over the largest streamer without extensive streaming experience.[S1]
Rice's streaming record is limited but not absent. He sat on the Hulu board and, for nearly three years from 2019 until his 2022 departure, approved greenlights for Hulu series including Only Murders in the Building, Dopesick, The Dropout and The Great. He also worked with FX chief John Landgraf on moving the cable brand into streaming with The Bear, backed costly bets that became hits in FX's Shōgun and Disney+'s Percy Jackson, and used Searchlight ties to bring the documentary Summer of Soul to Hulu before its Oscar-winning run.[S1]
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Talent relations and the search for a hit
Producers and talent representatives have welcomed the hire because of Rice's creative credentials and Hollywood relationships. Sarandos made those relationships a central justification, telling investors and staff that Rice understands talent relations, remarks that attendees and earnings-call viewers took as praise for Rice and also as an implicit criticism of Bajaria, who was thanked for her decade at Netflix at both gatherings.[S1]
People at the town hall also came away thinking that worry about whether the current pipeline could produce a major hit contributed to the change. Sarandos said on the call that he expected Rice to leave his mark and affect projects already in development even in the near term, and he acknowledged that the company could perform better, particularly in the United States.[S1]
At both appearances Sarandos said Netflix's business flywheel works fundamentally but needs better execution, including a sharper focus on shows with global appeal. The reset follows a sharp stock decline and warnings on Wall Street as engagement growth has slowed; Sarandos conceded that the year had produced solid doubles and triples but no home runs.[S1]
The town hall also pointed to a return to basics. Sarandos reportedly stressed prioritizing member joy, a principle long central to Netflix's corporate philosophy and one that co-founder Reed Hastings listed among his main contributions when he left earlier this year. Sarandos said the member experience should guide everything the company does.[S1]
