Reed Hastings, the co-creator of Netflix and the company's co-CEO, is stepping down from his role as one of the most important people in the streaming industry.
As of today, newly elevated operations chief Greg Peters will share the responsibilities with co-CEO Ted Sarandos, who has held the position since July 2020.
Hasting's Departure Is Part Of The Streaming Giant's Transition
In a blog post, Hastings, who founded Netflix in 1997 as a DVD-by-mail business, said that he had been handing over management responsibilities more and more lately.
Despite this, the former CEO says he would continue to be actively involved in the company as Executive Chairman, acting as a "bridge" between the board of directors and the new CEOs.
According to Engadget, the retiring boss described the change as a transition that had been long anticipated.
Additionally, for the past two and a half years, Sarandos and Peters have "increasingly" run the business, according to Hastings.
Peters has played a crucial role in establishing alliances and guiding the company's drive into gaming, while Sarandos is credited with driving Netflix's entry into original content.
He continues, it was simply the "perfect time" to put into action a succession that had been planned for years.
HOwever, following in the footsteps of Microsoft's Bill Gates and Amazon's Jeff Bezos, Hastings will continue in his role as executive chair, Financial Times writes.
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Netflix Is Also Recovering From An Unpleasant Year
Hastings' exit occurs as Netflix appears to be gradually getting better after a gloomy 2022, according to Engadget.
For the first time in more than a decade, it lost subscribers, and it put the decline down to a mix of fiercer competition, few chances for expansion, and widespread account sharing.
However, it revealed in its recently released fourth quarter earnings report that it had added 7.66 million new users, bringing the total number of subscribers to 230.75 million.
Netflix produced just $55 million in net income, which appears to have occurred at the price of profit, although it is a significant improvement over the first half of 2022.
Despite this, a painful stock market devaluation of the whole US media industry resulted from Netflix's shocking announcement that it had lost subscribers in April of last year.
Following the "Netflix Correction," Wall Street has become less optimistic about the streaming video industry, placing a greater emphasis on profitability and putting pressure on major entertainment companies to cut costs.
In 2022, Netflix had 231 million paid customers, an increase of 8 million for the year, and its poorest yearly growth in ten years, Financial Times reports.
According to the streaming giant, the year's end performance exceeded its expectations, and the company is "pleased" with how its $7 ad-supported plan is doing so far.
The business anticipates a "moderate" increase in subscribers during the first quarter of 2023 and aims to introduce paid account sharing "more generally" later in the time frame.
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