Netflix has appointed former Disney executive Peter Rice as its new chief content officer, replacing Bela Bajaria, who is leaving the streaming company after nearly a decade. The move was announced on Thursday, with Rice set to take charge of Netflix’s global content organisation on 26 October, overseeing scripted and unscripted series, film and live events across all regions.
Rice is one of the most experienced television operators in the industry. He served as chairman of Walt Disney Television and chairman of general entertainment at the Walt Disney Company, running businesses that included ABC, FX, Hulu, National Geographic and Disney’s television production operations. Earlier he held senior roles at 21st Century Fox and Fox Searchlight Pictures, and since leaving Disney in 2022 he has produced films including “28 Years Later”. Bajaria joined Netflix in 2016 and was named chief content officer in January 2023; during her tenure the company released hits including Stranger Things, Wednesday, Bridgerton, Squid Game and Adolescence, and expanded into live programming through partnerships with WWE and the NFL.
Why the change matters for advertisers
The appointment lands one day after Netflix told staff it was cutting about 6% of its workforce, roughly 1,000 jobs, its largest reduction since 2022. Shares were already down around 23% this year as investor focus shifts from subscriber counts to engagement, and the stock fell further in pre-market trading on Friday. Netflix has grown to more than 325 million subscribers globally, but the service is competing for attention with everything from sports channels to free user-generated video — a pressure captured in recent workforce reduction analysis of its margins.
Co-CEO Ted Sarandos thanked Bajaria for “a decade of dedication, innovation, creativity and leadership”, and called Rice “one of the most effective at-scale operators in the entertainment industry”, adding that his talent relationships are exceptionally strong. Rice said Netflix had “fundamentally changed the way stories are made, shared and experienced around the world” and that he was excited to help bring more stories to members everywhere.
A remit built for the engagement era
For media buyers, the telling detail is the breadth of the remit. Rice takes ownership of the live-events portfolio — five NFL games in 2026 including a Christmas Day doubleheader, plus the WWE partnership — which has become the anchor of Netflix’s advertising pitch. With its ad-supported tier accounting for the majority of sign-ups where available and advertising revenue projected to roughly double this year, the content chief’s ability to deliver appointment viewing will directly shape inventory quality for planners, whose attention across streaming apps already varies sharply by platform. Netflix reports third-quarter earnings on Tuesday, when investors will get the first numbers of the Rice era.
Details of the leadership change were confirmed in the company’s announcement.
