Peter Rice Replaces Bajaria as Netflix CCO — SkimNews
Get the Culture newsletter
Daily culture — film, music, books, the trends and ideas worth your attention. Free.
- Peter Rice is Netflix's new chief content officer, replacing Bela Bajaria, who learned of her ouster from co-CEO Ted Sarandos just before the 'Nobody Wants This' Season 3 premiere screening; she had been on stage in Cannes accepting Variety's Mipcom Vanguard Award days earlier.
- Netflix cut roughly 1,000 positions — about 6% of its workforce — on Tuesday and Wednesday of the same week, with its Q3 earnings report due Oct. 20.
- Bajaria's exit drew sharp rebuke from Hollywood: one prominent agent told Variety, 'We don't live in Hollywood right now. We live in Silicon Valley,' calling the treatment 'shameful' and 'a tech approach' to letting an executive of her stature go.
- Film chief Dan Lin is widely expected to depart as Rice prioritizes the film slate, with ousted Warner Bros. Pictures chiefs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy floated as potential replacements heading into Greta Gerwig's theatrical 'Narnia: The Magician's Nephew' launch in February.
- Rice's first internal memo emphasized the 'UCAN' (United States and Canada) market, prompting immediate speculation that Netflix will dial back the aggressive local-language content strategy Bajaria championed.
- Jinny Howe, Netflix's US and Canada scripted head since August 2025, is reportedly safe, with a high-wattage slate including Meryl Streep in 'The Corrections,' Adam Driver and Michael Fassbender in 'Rabbit, Rabbit,' Martin Scorsese's 'The Roman,' and 'Scooby-Doo: Origins.'
Why it matters: Peter Rice, recruited from Disney's former TV chief chair, inherits a Netflix already in cost-cutting mode — 6% of staff cut the same week, Q3 earnings on Oct. 20 — and his first memo's 'UCAN' focus signals a possible retreat from Bajaria's global, local-language playbook that built hits like 'Squid Game.' With Cindy Holland just ousted from Skydance to make room for Casey Bloys, and Skydance's acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery reshaping the studio map, Rice steps into a dramatically different Hollywood than his predecessors — including potential acquisition targets like NBCUniversal, which Comcast plans to spin out next year.
Ask SkimNews
