Netflix on Thursday announced the departure of Bela Bajaria, its chief content officer of nearly 10 years. Replacing her is Peter Rice, the former chairman of Walt Disney Television, who will start on Oct. 26.
The announcement comes a day after the streaming giant said it was laying off approximately 1,000 employees, representing about 6% of its workforce. The attrition, which mainly affects product, technology, legal and HR teams, was announced in an internal email by Netflix co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters. Netflix had about 15,000 employees at the end of 2025.
Netflix stock has fallen about 25% in 2026—and despite adding new features such as gaming and short-form video—is facing increasing competition from the likes of YouTube and TikTok. Several weeks ago, Sarandos told an industry gathering that the company was “not growing as fast as I want.”
Commenting on Bajaria’s departure, Sarandos thanked her “for a decade of dedication, innovation, creativity and leadership.”
“She led enormous changes at Netflix. She helped broaden our content offering to include the large-scale expansion of unscripted programming and the launches of live events and sports, in addition to crafting and running a world-class, global slate of films and series,” he said. “I’m incredibly grateful for everything she’s done to help Netflix entertain the world.”
As chief content officer, Rice will lead Netflix’s global content organisation, overseeing scripted and unscripted series, film, live events and more across all regions, according to Sarandos.
“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 TV and film is deep and broad,” he continued. “He understands what makes stories resonate, and he’s spent his career helping talent do the best work of their lives. I’m excited to welcome him to Netflix as chief content officer as we continue to scale and deliver members more of the stories they love.”
Said Rice: “Netflix has fundamentally changed the way stories are made, shared and experienced around the world. They’ve shown again and again that they’re willing to take chances on distinctive voices and fresh ideas, and I’m excited to work with the team to help bring even more great stories to members everywhere. I’m grateful to Bela for building such a remarkable global team, and I look forward to building on everything she and the team have created.”
Rice was most recently chairman of Walt Disney Television and Chairman of General Entertainment for The Walt Disney Company. There, he oversaw ABC, Fox Broadcasting, Fox Sports, ABC News, ABC Studios, Disney Channel, Freeform, FX Networks, Hulu, National Geographic, Onyx Collective, Disney Television and Twentieth Century Fox Television. He also chaired the boards of A&E Networks and National Geographic Partners. Earlier, Rice was president of 21st Century Fox and CEO of Fox Networks Group, and Fox’s lead executive on the Hulu board. Before that, he was president of Fox Searchlight Pictures.
