Newly appointed Netflix content chief Peter Rice will blend “art and commerce” in re-orienting the company’s film and TV operations, Co-CEO Ted Sarandos said.
The executive turnover was a key topic during Netflix’s third-quarter earnings call Tuesday with Wall Street analysts. The call followed the release of solid financial results for the July-to-September quarter, though lower fourth-quarter and full-year guidance spooked investors and sent Netflix shares tumbling in after-hours trading.
Rice was named to the chief content role, replacing 10-year company veteran Bela Bajaria amid the layoff of 1,000 employees, including a number of senior execs.
“Peter brings expertise in both art and commerce, television and film,” Sarandos said. “It’s that exact balanced skill set that will guide us into our next chapter.”
Sarandos said he first met Rice about 15 years ago. The former 21st Century Fox exec stayed on in a senior post after Disney acquired most of Fox but was fired by former Disney CEO Bob Chapek.
“I’ve got to tell you, the outpouring of excitement for him about him coming to Netflix from across the industry, and from the creative community, has been nothing short of overwhelming,” the exec raved. “He’s one of the really rare people in the industry who’s led TV networks, movie studios, streaming services. His creative instinct and his business acumen are remarkable. He’s really an at-scale quality and volume operator, and he does it across every imaginable form of entertainment – network, prestige cable, streaming, theatrical and TV films, and live sports.
While Sarandos took time to praise Bajaria during the call, he also threw a bit of shade by going on to say, “Most importantly, Peter Rice understands talent relations. In a competitive market, creative talent have choices of where they want to work, and we want Netflix to always be the place that they love to do the best work of their life. Peter is the exact right person to lead those efforts in the U.S. and around the world.”
Rice can “have an impact” on fourth-quarter and 2027 titles “even in the short term,” Sarandos said, despite not having been part of green-light decisions.
While he was effusive about Rice, Sarandos also insisted the company’s “business and business flywheel are working.” Even though there has been a slowdown of viewer growth, he added, “there’s no need for a fundamental shift in the strategy. We do need better execution in the U.S.”
Netflix has had “some solid doubles and triples this year, but other territories count on those being home runs so they can travel around the world,” he said.