Netflix reports third-quarter earnings after the bell today. It already told us the bigger news: it cut about 1,000 jobs, swapped out its top content executive, and as of Monday has lost its film chief too. Here's what that means for you, plus the rest of what moved.
WHAT'S MOVING THIS WEEK
Netflix cuts 6% of staff, replaces its content chief and loses its film boss
Fox and Roku shareholders approve the $22B deal
CNN gets paid to feed Google's AI
Prebid plans to flip the auction on Google
Hollywood's agents push for an indie quota
THE BIG STORY
Netflix hits reset: 1,000 jobs out, new content chief in
Netflix is cutting about 1,000 jobs, roughly 6% of its workforce. Most of the cuts hit product, technology, legal and HR, not content. Co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters told staff the company has to be "disciplined about where we prioritize our people and resources."
Then came the bigger signal. Bela Bajaria, chief content officer and a 10-year Netflix veteran, is leaving. Her replacement is Peter Rice, the former chairman of Walt Disney Television and former CEO of Fox Networks Group. He'll run all of Netflix's content globally: series, film, unscripted and live.
And on Monday, film chief Dan Lin was out too, the Los Angeles Times reported. Lin was hired in 2024 to make "fewer, better and bigger movies." Rice will oversee film himself until a new head is named.
Why now? Engagement grew just 2% in the first half of the year, and the stock was down 42% from a year earlier as of Monday. Netflix lost the bidding war for Warner Bros. to Paramount Skydance. YouTube reportedly passed it in average daily viewing last year. Even the awards slipped: 16 Emmys this year, down from 30 in 2025.
SO WHAT? A new content chief means new lieutenants, new priorities and a reset on who greenlights what. If you produce, rep talent or sell IP, your Netflix relationships may have just changed, and the next 90 days are when Rice's team decides what it wants. If you sell into Netflix's product or tech side, expect slower decisions and tighter budgets.
QUICK HITS
Shareholders of both companies approved Fox's $22 billion purchase of Roku last Wednesday: $160 a share, about $14.2 billion in cash plus Fox stock. The DOJ has issued a second request, and Fox still expects to close in the first half of 2027. Why it matters: Tubi and The Roku Channel would sit under one owner, along with the Roku home screen itself. If you buy or sell CTV and free streaming, plan for one much bigger negotiator.
🤖 CNN gets paid to feed Google's AI
CNN signed a multiyear deal with Google that licenses its content for experimental AI features. Terms weren't disclosed, but CNN says it's being compensated. Axios, the Financial Times and Forbes also joined Google's paid news AI pilot, which now counts more than 400 publications. Why it matters: AI licensing is turning into a normal revenue line for news. If you own original reporting or an archive, know what it's worth before a platform names the price.
⚙️ Prebid wants to flip the auction on Google
After Judge Leonie Brinkema ordered Google to let AdX bid separately from its ad server, Prebid proposed reversing the auction: ad servers, including Google's, would bid inside Prebid's auction like any other exchange. It's open for comment, with a target of the end of Q1 2027. Why it matters: Publishers could reach Google's demand without Google's ad server. Adoption still depends on Google playing along.
⚖️ Hollywood's agents want an indie quota
CAA, WME and UTA, plus producers including Jason Blum, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer and Peter Chernin, formed the American Entertainment Alliance. They want a law requiring Netflix, Disney, Amazon and Skydance to spend half of their original-content budgets on independent productions. Why it matters: It's a long shot, and the streamers will fight it. But consolidation is now a policy fight, not just a trade-press complaint.
🇬🇧 The UK may step into Sky-ITV
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy says she is "minded to intervene" in Sky's £1.6 billion deal for ITV's channels and ITVX, over news plurality and ownership concerns. Sky and ITV have until today to respond. Why it matters: She's also weighing a new public-interest test for streaming. Every broadcaster-streamer deal in the UK could get slower.
NUMBER OF THE WEEK
$900 million
That's what Candle Media valued Hello Sunshine at in 2021. Last week Reese Witherspoon and France's Mediawan bought it back for what sources call a "low- to mid-eight figures" price. Creator-led studios bought at 2021 prices are being repriced. Buyers now pay for cash flow, not star power.
ONE THING TO DO THIS WEEK
Rebuild your Netflix contact map before Friday. List everyone you pitch, negotiate with or sell inventory to there, then ask each one directly whether their team or their boss changed last week. Watch today's earnings call for where Netflix says it's still investing. That's where your next pitch should point.
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— AJ