Bela Bajaria Gets 2026 International Emmy Founders Award
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- Bela Bajaria will receive the 2026 International Emmy Founders Award at the 54th International Emmy Awards on November 23 in New York City.
- International Academy President & CEO Bruce L. Paisner called Bajaria "among the most consequential executives in television today," crediting her with building a global content operation where stories "told in any language can become worldwide phenomena."
- Bajaria said stories "rooted in a specific place, a specific truth" resonate most globally, adding that "authenticity travels" and that she never takes that "gift" for granted.
- Netflix's content operation under Bajaria reaches nearly one billion people in over 190 countries across more than 50 languages.
- Bajaria's tenure oversaw hits including Stranger Things, Squid Game, Wednesday, and Bridgerton, plus films like KPop Demon Hunters, Frankenstein, and Train Dreams.
- Netflix's live programming push under Bajaria secured multiyear partnerships with WWE, NFL, and MLB.
- Past Founders Award recipients include Steven Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey, J.J. Abrams, Jesse Armstrong, Shonda Rhimes, Ryan Murphy, David E. Kelley, and most recently Disney President Dana Walden.
Why it matters: The Founders Award places Bajaria alongside entertainment figures like Spielberg, Winfrey, and Rhimes, formal recognition of Netflix's globalization playbook. Her acceptance remarks and Paisner's citation — both spotlighting non-English stories breaking worldwide — frame the Academy as endorsing the streaming era's shift away from Hollywood-only tentpoles, with Squid Game as the marquee proof point.
