Netflix has had a roller coaster ride since last year, from reporting major losses to finally adding a bunch of subscribers to its service. Now, Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings announced on Thursday that he would step down as chief executive, handling the company to co-CEO Ted Sarandos and the company’s chief operating officer, Greg Peters.
Sarandos and Peters will share the title of chief executive, while Hastings will sit as an executive chairman. The change is effective on an immediate basis. “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”.
“Ted and Greg have developed great trust and respect for each other through their collective successes and failures. In addition, they can always be relied upon to put Netflix’s interests first. These qualities — combined with their complementary skill sets, deep knowledge of entertainment and technology, and proven track record at Netflix — create a unique opportunity to deliver faster growth and greater success long term with them as co-CEOs”, he added.
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Reed announced his exit at a time when the company was finally seeing an increase in the number of subscribers towards its service. While reporting its fourth-quarter earnings shortly after Reed Hastings stepped down as CEO, Netflix said that it added 7.7 million subscribers — well over the 4.5 million it anticipated. The company brought in $7.85 billion during the final quarter of 2022.
Netflix gave the credit behind this increase in subscribers to its content such as “Wednesday,” the stand-alone “Knives Out” sequel “Glass Onion” and the royals documentary “Harry & Meghan.”