Netflix announced on Thursday that Peter Rice, formerly chairman of Walt Disney Television, will succeed Bela Bajaria as chief content officer. His remit spans the company’s global content operations, including scripted and unscripted series, films and live events. Bajaria, who took up the role in January 2023, is departing after almost a decade at Netflix. Co-chief executive Ted Sarandos thanked her for her leadership during substantial changes at the company.
Rice brings experience overseeing ABC, FX, Hulu, National Geographic and Disney Channel, a portfolio responsible for more than 300 shows annually. Previously president of 21st Century Fox, he also led Fox Searchlight Pictures, which released Slumdog Millionaire and Juno. He graduated from the University of Nottingham in 1989. After being dismissed from Disney by then-chief executive Bob Chapek in 2022, Rice produced films including Saturday Night and 28 Years Later. His current projects include Alex Garland’s Elden Ring and ceremonies for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
The appointment follows Netflix’s announcement a day earlier that it would eliminate approximately 1,000 positions, or 6% of its workforce, mainly in product, technology, legal and human resources teams. Although Sarandos and co-chief executive Greg Peters described the business as strong, growing and on course to meet its full-year forecast, Sarandos said last month that growth was slower than he wanted. In explaining the content leadership change to employees, he identified opportunities to strengthen Netflix’s programming, particularly in the US and Canada.
