The recent happenings at Netflix have created a lot of buzz online. And no, this isn’t just about a newly launched series. Netflix Inc co-founder Reed Hastings said that he will step down as chief executive, handing the reins of the streaming service to longtime partner and co-CEO Ted Sarandos and the company’s chief operating officer, Greg Peters.
Reed Hastings, 62, had been Netflix’s chief executive for more than 20 years after taking over the role from his friend and fellow company co-founder Marc Randolph in the late 1990s.
During a conference call late Thursday, Sarandos said that
losing Hastings as co-CEO “leaves some big shoes for me and Greg to fill.”
The video streaming giant Netflix on Thursday said it ended last year with more than 230 million global subscribers, beating analysts’ expectations as hits such as “Wednesday” and “Harry & Meghan” enticed new viewers.
In a letter announcing bumper fourth quarter earnings, the company said, “2022 was a tough year, with a bumpy start but a brighter finish.”
He said he would take the new job of executive chairman, highlighting this was a role that tech giant founders often take, using Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Microsoft’s Bill Gates as examples.
The changing of the CEO was announced as Netflix posted earnings and subscriber data that blew past even the most optimistic expectations.
The online streaming behemoth mentioned it enticed 7.7 million new members in three months, bringing Netflix membership around the world to 230 million people.
Netflix applauded a successful slate of new content that included horror themed comedy “Wednesday”, calling the “Addams Family” spinoff the company’s third most popular series ever.
Royal tell-all documentary “Harry & Meghan” also scored, Netflix said, as well as “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” starring Daniel Craig.
The new titles helped attract users to a new lower-priced “Basic with Ads” subscription, as consumers snipped back on their entertainment spending in the wake of rising inflation and an unpredictable economy.
Revenue in the October to December period, at $7.85 billion, was in accordance with forecasts and helped elevating shares in Netflix up by more than 6 per cent post the announcement.
The company insists that counting new users is no longer the most essential criteria for evaluating the company’s health and that revenue should instead be the main focus.
Post several years of enjoying the title of the world’s premiere streaming site, Netflix now faces strong competition from deep-pocketed rivals, comprising Disney +, which has also introduced an ad-based subscription.
But in spite of the new challenges, Netflix is one of the rare tech giants to have recieved acclaim from Wall Street with its share price up almost 50 per cent in the last six months.
