By Hollywood is still reeling from Thursday’s shock firing of Bela Bajaria as Netflix’s chief content officer — a move many insiders are calling a stunning fall from grace for an executive who was considered too big to fail. Word of her ouster leaked before Bajaria herself could address most of her internal teams, and it arrived alongside the announcement of her replacement: Peter Rice, the venerated former general entertainment chairman of The Walt Disney Company.
Bela Bajaria (Credits: Rodin Eckenroth/Variety via Getty Images)
Netflix may be the company that popularized the ruthless “keeper test,” but this one landed differently. Bajaria had held the largest autonomous content job in the streamer’s history since 2020, when co-CEO Ted Sarandos combined English-language and international content under her following the ouster of Cindy Holland — Netflix’s first content queen, who oversaw flagship hits like “House of Cards,” “Stranger Things” and “The Crown.”
A Scapegoat for a Broken Model?
One word came up in nearly a dozen conversations with industry players about Bajaria’s firing: “scapegoat.” Netflix is against the ropes again after slowing user engagement rattled Wall Street investors, and layoffs arrived this week as a sacrifice to the share price. But sources insist content isn’t the problem. “People always blame the content, but you don’t lay off 1,000 people unless there’s a big problem with the business model,” one source told Variety.
“The problem isn’t engagement,” said another insider. “It’s that the only lever to pull for revenue growth is raising the subscriber price. How’s that Bela’s problem? Where’s the CFO and the CEO?”
Her Legacy — and the Successor
Where Holland built a business of boutique hits, Bajaria’s foresight ran global. She invested heavily in local-language productions, built up Netflix’s global presence — opening almost two dozen international offices during her reign — and pushed the streamer into live entertainment. She was also on the ground floor of Netflix’s licensing deals with the WWE and the NFL, which have proven significant draws for the ad-supported tier, and her talent relations were widely regarded as being on par with the best in the business.
Her replacement, Peter Rice, brings undeniable bona fides from his Disney tenure — one top talent rep reportedly reacted with “I wish I bought stock this morning.” Rice had been edging out of semi-retirement (via a producing deal with A24) and was recently reported to be interviewing with Skydance co-CEO Ynon Kreiz for a top job at the newly combined company.
Adding to the intrigue: earlier this year, Sarandos was spotted having lunch with HBO chief content officer Casey Bloys. The spin machine called it a friendly gathering, but now that Sarandos has swung the ax on Bajaria after ten years, the town is wondering whether a lunch is ever really just a lunch.
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Source: Variety — read the full story there.
