Quick News Bit

Netflix CEO Steps Down as Streaming Service Hits 231 Million Subscribers

0

Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings announced on Thursday he will step down as chief executive, handing the reins of the streaming service to his longtime partner and co-CEO, Ted Sarandos, and the company’s chief operating officer, Greg Peters.

Sarandos and Peters will share the title of chief executives, with Hastings serving as executive chairman. The change is effective immediately, representing the culmination of a decade of succession planning by the board. Both Peters and Sarandos were promoted in July 2020, amid a challenging time for the company.

“It was a baptism by fire, given Covid and recent challenges within our business,” Hastings wrote in a blog post announcing his departure. “But they’ve both managed incredibly well … so the board and I believe it’s the right time to compete my succession.”

Hastings makes his exit on a high note. Netflix reported 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 streaming television viewers.

The streaming video pioneer has been under pressure from restrained consumer spending and competition from Walt Disney, Amazon.com and others spending billions of dollars to make TV shows and movies for online audiences.

Netflix lost customers in the first half of 2022. It returned to growth in the second half, but new customer additions remains below the pace of recent years.

To kickstart growth, Netflix introduced a cheaper, ad-supported option last November in 12 countries. It also has announced plans to crack down on password sharing.

The company’s global subscriber base hit 231 million at the end of December.

Audiences flocked to Addams family tale “Wednesday,” the third-most watched show in Netflix history, the company said. Murder mystery “Glass Onion” and British royals documentary “Harry & Meghan” also were hits during the quarter.

Net income fell to $55 million (roughly Rs. 446 crore) or 12 cents per share, from $607 million (roughly Rs. 4,932 crore) or $1.33 per share (roughly Rs. 100) a year earlier. Revenue rose 1.9 percent to $7.85 billion (roughly Rs. 63,778 crore), in line with expectations.

Bela Bajaria, Netflix’s head of global television, was named chief content officer.


 

Affiliate links may be automatically generated – see our ethics statement for details.

For all the latest Technology News Click Here 

 For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News

Read original article here

Denial of responsibility! NewsBit.us is an automatic aggregator around the global media. All the content are available free on Internet. We have just arranged it in one platform for educational purpose only. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, all materials to their authors. If you are the owner of the content and do not want us to publish your materials on our website, please contact us by email – [email protected]. The content will be deleted within 24 hours.

Leave a comment