Netflix named former Disney executive Peter Rice chief content officer, effective 26 October 2026. He replaces Bela Bajaria, who is leaving after nearly 10 years, the company said on 15 October. Deadline reported the appointment the same day.

Rice will lead Netflix’s global content organisation: scripted and unscripted series, film and live events across all regions, the company said. Co-CEO Ted Sarandos called him one of the most effective at-scale operators in entertainment, with strong talent relationships and deep experience in television and film.

Rice’s last full-time job was chairman of Walt Disney Television and chairman of general entertainment at Disney. He ran Fox Searchlight (films such as Slumdog Millionaire and Little Miss Sunshine) and later Fox/Disney television, from The Simpsons and Modern Family to sports events such as the Super Bowl, Sarandos wrote in an internal email quoted by Deadline.

Bajaria joined Netflix in 2016 and became CCO in January 2023, Reuters reported. Rice said Netflix had changed how stories are made and experienced and that he was excited to work with the team on more distinctive titles.

Deadline noted that Rice is unusual for combining film and TV experience, but that he does not have a long streaming résumé. That is the trade paper’s observation, not an official Netflix assessment.

Since leaving Disney, Rice has been producing films. His name circulated for the job last week, Deadline wrote. The story is a personnel appointment, not an audience report.

Image: Coolcaesar, 100 Winchester Circle, Los Gatos, 1 April 2019, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The building with Netflix and Roku signs; not a photo of the October 2026 announcement.

Sources consulted: Netflix Names Peter Rice As Chief Content Officer — Deadline; Peter Rice Named Netflix Chief Content Officer — About Netflix.