Bela Bajaria out, Peter Rice in as Netflix shakes up content leadership
Bela Bajaria (left) is being replaced by Peter Rice at Netflix
Netflix’s chief content officer Bela Bajaria is leaving the streamer after a decade, with former Disney and 21st Century Fox exec Peter Rice tapped to replace her in a major shakeup.
The surprise announcement was made in an internal memo from Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, who praised Bajaria’s contributions but said he “see[s] an opportunity to take our slate to the next level, especially in UCAN where we have an outsize impact in creating big, buzzy hits that our members love and drive conversation around the world.”
Bajaria joined Netflix as VP of content in 2016 after previously serving as president of Universal Television. In 2020, she was promoted to head of global TV after the departure of Cindy Holland, who was also ousted in dramatic fashion.
During her tenure, Bajaria has overseen a major transformation in Netflix’s programming output, with the streamer shifting towards more broad-based scripted programming like The Night Agent and The Diplomat, in addition to growing its unscripted offerings, expanding its focus on local-language content and moving into live events.
She described her programming philosophy as being like a “gourmet cheeseburger,” a phrase coined by US/Canada head of scripted Jinny Howe, meaning it is simultaneously premium and commercial.
“After a phenomenal decade at Netflix, Bela is leaving the company. It’s hard to overstate the impact Bela has had during her time here,” wrote Sarandos.
Her exit comes just days after she gave a keynote interview at Mipcom, where she talked up the strength of both the US and international slates.
Sarandos added: “Bela has built and shaped a truly global content organisation, hiring brilliant people and empowering them to make good decisions. I am incredibly grateful to her for everything she’s done.”
For Rice, the appointment comes more than four years after he was ousted from his role as chairman of Disney General Entertainment by then Disney CEO Bob Chapek. In that role, Rice had oversight of Disney+ and Hulu as well as brands and platforms such as 20th Television, ABC Entertainment, ABC News, ABC Signature, Disney Branded Television, Freeform, FX, Hulu Originals, National Geographic and Onyx Collective.
Before Disney’s acquisition of Fox’s entertainment assets, Rice was the president of 21st Century Fox and chairman and CEO of Fox Networks Group. After leaving Disney, he moved into independent production and in 2023 signed a production and co-financing deal with US-based studio A24.
“Peter is one of the most effective at-scale operators in the entertainment industry. His business acumen is sharp, his talent relationships are exceptionally strong, and his experience across both TV and film is deep and broad,” said Sarandos, who noted Rice’s work across series like The Simpsons, American Idol, Modern Family, The Bear and Abbott Elementary and film titles like Slumdog Millionaire, Little Miss Sunshine and Sideways, as well as having oversight of major events including the Super Bowl and FIFA World Cup.
Sarandos called Rice “one of the few people in our industry who has ever operated at the quality and scale that we do at Netflix every day.”
He continued: “I’ve gotten to know Peter personally over the years, and I’ve always been impressed by his straightforward approach, the depth of his relationships and his exceptional creative and business instincts. Talent should have the best experiences of their life here, and Peter and I both believe that Netflix can and should be the home of the best storytellers in the world.”
Bajaria’s exit caps a shocking week at Netflix, which on Wednesday axed around 6% of its workforce, the equivalent of around 1,000 jobs, including several key execs across both TV and film.
The upheaval comes as the streaming giant reacts to a sustained stock-market slide and concerns over viewership.
Its share price is down more than 40% over the past year, a decline that was precipitated by its pursuit of Warner Bros Discovery. Meanwhile, engagement grew by just 2% in the first half of 2026 compared to the prior year, with Sarandos conceding last week that engagement isn’t growing as he had hoped. According to Nielsen streaming data for the month of July, Netflix commands a 7.8% share of streaming audiences in the US versus YouTube’s 14.2%.
The lay-offs and leadership rejig come ahead of the release of Netflix’s third-quarter earnings next week.
