Netflix Inc. is replacing its chief creative officer with a veteran TV and film executive, Peter Rice, stepping up efforts to revive growth and reverse a slump in viewers and revenue at the streaming giant.
Rice previously served as chairman of general entertainment at The Walt Disney Company and, prior to that, as president of 21st Century Fox. He assumes the new role on October 26 with a broad mandate, overseeing scripted and unscripted series, film and live events across all territories. Rice replaces Bela Bajaria, who worked at Netflix for 10 years and became the public face of the company’s content strategy.
The executive moves, along with layoffs of nearly 1,000 employees, or 6% of the workforce, on Wednesday, are a sign that streaming industry leaders are trying to reinvent themselves after seeing their audience growth slow and stock prices plummet.
The service has reached over 325 million subscribers globally. But it has evolved from a producer of “prestige TV” shows like House of Cards and The Crown to a massive entertainment source, competing with everything from sports channels to YouTube videos, and doing so on a global scale.
In moving Rice to the role, Netflix’s senior leadership has the opportunity to install an executive with deep ties to Hollywood talent and experience running a broad portfolio of channels and streaming services. At Fox and later Disney, he oversaw a TV lineup that included hits from The Simpsons to Modern Family.
Recent Netflix shows have seen their viewership decline in their second season. The service saw its Emmy Award wins hit a 10-year low in 2026. The stock, which has lost about 23% of its value this year, fell 1.1% in extended trading.
Speaking at the Bloomberg Screentime conference in Los Angeles last month, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos acknowledged that the company isn’t growing as fast as they’d like. While the company is expanding into live sports and podcasts, the bulk of Netflix’s nearly $20 billion programming budget goes to movies, TV shows and video games.
“Peter is one of the most influential level operators in the entertainment industry,” Sarandos said in a statement Thursday. “He understands what makes stories resonate, and has spent his career helping talent do the best work of their lives.”
Bajaria was hired by TKO Group Holdings Inc. to expand Netflix’s unscripted portfolio of entertainment offerings and bring WWE’s weekly wrestling show, Raw, to the streaming service. Credited with making a deal with He memorably described the ideal Netflix program as a “gourmet cheeseburger” — something that combines quality and broad appeal.
“Losing Bela Bajaria is a big change, but Peter Rice is very well-regarded in the industry,” Alicia Reis, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, said by email. “For us, this is a step forward, or at least a change in direction.”
Netflix’s shift from a streaming service to a platform with more diverse content fits Rice’s experience well, Reiss said. His experience in integrating Fox’s entertainment assets with Disney suggests that Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. earlier this year. After being outbid by Skydance Corp., Netflix may look at other acquisitions, such as NBCUniversal when it becomes available.
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