Netflix Replaces Bela Bajaria With Peter Rice After Her Decade at Company

Bela Bajaria joined Netflix in 2016 and rose to become its chief content officer, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Her departure ends a decade at the company.

IndieWire Movies credited Bajaria with helping make Netflix a dominant force in television. Her exit comes as the company sheds about 1,000 employees, The Hollywood Reporter reported.

On October 15, Variety Movies reported that Bajaria was leaving and that former Disney executive Peter Rice was expected to replace her.

That succession quickly moved beyond expectation. Deadline Hollywood reported that Netflix named Rice moments after news of Bajaria's departure emerged, with his start date set for October 26.

CNBC International also reported Netflix's announcement that Rice would replace Bajaria as chief content officer. Deadline Hollywood said he would oversee all content at the company.

The replacement is announced, rather than merely anticipated in the earliest coverage. Rice is due to take over on October 26, according to Deadline Hollywood.

The change has a financial backdrop as well as a staffing one. The Financial Times described Netflix's replacement of its content chief as an effort to arrest a declining share price. That account adds context, but the supplied coverage does not establish a direct connection between Bajaria's departure and the employee cuts.

The next dated step is Rice's arrival on October 26. The supplied coverage establishes his companywide content remit but does not detail changes to programming priorities or how the workforce reductions will affect his operation.