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Rising out on top: Netflix founder Reed Hastings resigns but will remain as CEO, and COO Greg Peters, who ran streaming, takes the reins as co-CEO alongside Ted Sarandos.
- Hastings, who spearheaded Hollywood’s first revolution, is moving upstairs, while Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters are now the new co-CEOs.
- In a statement, Hastings, 62, said: “I am very proud of our first 25 years and very excited for our next quarter century.”
- The announcement came as Netflix revealed that it added a whopping 7.66 million new subscribers during the fourth quarter after launching its cheapest ad-supported membership.
Netflix founder Reed Hastings stepped down dramatically as co-CEO on Thursday, coming out on top after adding more than 7 million new subscribers with his lowest-cost, ad-supported tier.
Hastings, who spearheaded the first Hollywood revolution, is promoted as CEO, while Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters are now the new co-CEOs.
Peters, who led the move from DVDs to streaming, has reportedly been groomed for the role by Hastings for many years, handing him increasing power in recent years.
In a statement, Hastings, 62, said: “I am very proud of our first 25 years and very excited for our next quarter century. We can do so much more to better entertain the world and bring more joy to our members.’
The announcement came as Netflix revealed that it added a whopping 7.66 million new subscribers during Q4 2022 after launching its cheapest ad-supported membership tier.
Reed Hastings, co-CEO of Netflix, participates in the Milken Institute Global Conference on October 18, 2021 in Beverly Hills, California
Chart showing Netflix’s quarterly revenue from 2011 to 2022
The streaming giant had previously warned investors that it expected to have added just 4.5 million subscribers in the fourth quarter, the lowest addition for the holiday period since 2014.
The forecast caused the stock price to fall sharply in after-hours trading ahead of Thursday’s report.
Revenue reached $7.85 million in the fourth quarter and is forecast to grow to $8.17 million in the first quarter of 2023.
In the US and Canada, Netflix added 910,000 subscribers, while its fastest growing sector in the quarter was Europe, Middle East and Africa with 3.2 million new additions.
Hastings said he had been increasingly delegating management to Peters and Sarandos for more than two years. Sarandos was promoted to Co-CEO in July 2020.
“It was a baptism of fire, given COVID and recent challenges within our business,” Hastings wrote.
“But both have handled each other incredibly well, ensuring that Netflix continues to improve and develop a clear path to get back to accelerating our revenue and profit growth. So the board and I believe that the time is right to complete my succession,” she added.
Insiders said Hastings has been handing over to Peters responsibility for the company’s top priorities: rolling out the ad tier, forays into games and cracking down on password sharing.
“Reed has been grooming Greg for this job for years,” said Rich Greenfield, an analyst at Lightshed. the hollywood reporter.
‘This is the combination of a product person and a technology person in Greg with a content person in Ted. Netflix is the marriage of content and technology, and it’s important to convey that.
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Edward Norton as Miles, Madelyn Cline as Whiskey, and Daniel Craig as Detective Benoit Blanc. in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)
This is Reed acknowledging that Netflix is more than Reed Hastings, which is admirable for an industry that has let ego get in the way of succession time and time again.”
Netflix has come under pressure from restrained consumer spending and competition from Walt Disney Co, Amazon.com Inc and others who spend billions of dollars to make TV shows and movies for online audiences.
In the first half of 2022, Netflix shocked Wall Street by losing customers. The company grew again in the second semester.
Hastings said he planned to work with Sarandos and Hastings as chief executive for “many years to come.”
Netflix has also promoted Bela Bajaria to chief content officer.