Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings steps down as CEO, streaming service adds more than 7 million subscribers in Q4 2022
Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings announced on Thursday that he will step down as chief executive officer, handing the helm of the streaming service to his longtime partner and co-CEO, Ted Sarandos , and the company’s chief executive officer, Greg Peters.
Sarandos and Peters will share the title of chief executive officer, with Hastings as executive chairman. The change, effective immediately, represents the culmination of a decade of board succession planning. Both Peters and Sarandos were promoted in July 2020, amid a struggling company.
“It was a baptism by fire, due to Covid and the recent challenges in our business,” Hastings wrote in a blog post announcing his departure. “But both are extremely well managed…so the board and I believe this is the right time to compete for my succession.”
Hastings exited on a high note. Netflix reported that it added 7.66 million subscribers in the fourth quarter, beating Wall Street forecasts of 4.57 million with help from “Harry & Meghan” and “Wednesday” in the battle to attract online TV viewers.
The video streaming pioneer has come under pressure from consumer spending curbs and competition from Walt Disney, amazon.com and others spend billions of dollars making TV shows and movies for online audiences.
Netflix lost customers in the first half of 2022. Netflix grew again in the second half of the year, but new customer additions are still below the pace of recent years.
To kickstart growth, Netflix introduced a cheaper, ad-supported option last November in 12 countries. It has also announced plans to crack down on password sharing.
The company’s global subscriber base reached 231 million at the end of December.
Audiences flocked to the Addams family story “Wednesday,” the third most-watched show in Netflix history, the company said. Murder Mystery”Onion‘ and the British royal documentary ‘Harry & Meghan’ also became a hit during the quarter.
Net income fell to $55 million (about Rs 446 crore) or 12 cents per share, from $607 million (roughly Rs 4,932 crore) or $1.33 per share (roughly Rs 100 crore) a year earlier . Revenue rose 1.9% to $7.85 billion (approximately Rs 63,778 crore), in line with expectations.
Bela Bajaria, Netflix’s head of global television, has been named chief content officer.
