Reed Hastings is stepping down as co-CEO of Netflix to Greg Peters. © Getty – Ernesto S. Ruscio
After more than two decades at the head of Netflix, Reed Hastings, the emblematic boss of the platform, has decided to step down. It is Greg Peters who recovers his seat as co-CEO, alongside Ted Sarandos, co-CEO of the American company since the summer of 2020.
The first joined Netflix in 2008 to oversee product development and then launch advertising as chief operating officer, while the second has been a pillar of the Los Gatos firm since 2000. In other words, the two men are faithful lieutenants of Reed Hastings, and it would therefore be utopian to hope for a sudden change of course in the next few years.
Ted Sarandos, the content conductor
It is indeed with these two frameworks that Netflix has constantly reinvented itself to repel the onslaught of competition. If Reed Hastings had perceived the potential of streaming fairly early on, betting on this distribution channel in 2007 to take over from DVD rental, it was Ted Sarandos who enabled the platform to take full advantage of it. And for good reason, he was the great architect of the rise of Netflix in the production of content.
While investments in this direction did not exceed a billion dollars in 2010, they have only climbed since then, reaching nearly 27 billion dollars in 2022. It is during this period that series like Narcos, House of Cards, The Crown, Squid Game, 13 Reasons Why or Stranger Things gave a new dimension to the platform and allowed it to conquer the world. As a reminder, the American company only landed in France in 2014.
Greg Peters on the job in advertising
For his part, Greg Peters has proven himself during the recent period of crisis, which shook Netflix for two quarters. After ten years of uninterrupted growth, the Californian firm indeed came to a sudden halt in 2022, losing tens of thousands of subscribers over several months. Enough to encourage the company to open up to advertising, which it had refused to do until then.
It was Greg Peters who got down to carrying out this project to capture a segment of consumers who found the existing offers without advertising too expensive to subscribe to. Launched at the end of 2022, this package with advertising is still struggling to take off, so much so that the streaming giant has been forced to reimburse advertisers, but Netflix is convinced that it is a model for the future, while a Disney+ subscription with advertising has been deployed in the United States and should arrive in France in 2023.
Change without revolution
After working hand in hand with Reed Hastings for many years and together overcoming the challenges brought about by increased competition in the streaming industry, it was only logical to see Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters take the helm of the platform. Therefore, do not expect a dramatic turn in the future. Of course, there will be change, but without revolution. Moreover, Reed Hastings is not completely leaving the ship. Indeed, he will remain executive chairman of the company.
The timing for this handover seems ideal as Netflix ended 2022 with more than 230 million subscribers on the clock, which puts the service ahead of its rivals Disney+ (164.2 million, not counting Hulu and ESPN+) and Amazon. Prime Video (about 200 million). In the fourth quarter, the platform even gained nearly 7.7 million new subscribers, well above its own expectations of 4.5 million. With an optimistic financial outlook, Netflix approaches fiscal 2023 with serenity. During this year, the challenge for the American company will be to better monetize its audience, in particular by fighting against the sharing of passwords.