[Getty Images]
[Getty Images]

Netflix's head of films is stepping down as the streaming giant grapples with slowing growth and declining viewership.

Netflix issued a statement saying Dan Lin, its films chief, would resign, Reuters reported Monday (local time), according to Yonhap.

Lin oversaw the production of "KPop Demon Hunters," which won an Academy Award, cementing his legacy at the company. Before joining Netflix, he was a veteran producer at Warner Bros., where he worked on "Sherlock Holmes" and the Lego film series.

The departure of a key executive carries added weight amid deepening concerns about stagnating subscriber growth and a slowdown in the company's expansion.

Media analyst Hal Vogel said Netflix is "still growing, but at a slower pace." Co-CEO Ted Sarandos also acknowledged the slowdown, saying the company "is not growing as fast as we'd like."

Netflix's share of US TV viewing stood at 7.8 percent in July, down 1 percentage point from the same period a year earlier.

Against that backdrop, Bloomberg assessed that several high-budget original films have also failed to generate buzz.

The Russo brothers' "The Electric State," which carried a budget of more than $300 million, has already drawn harsh reviews from critics. Other films by marquee directors — including Zack Snyder's "Rebel Moon," Noah Baumbach's "White Noise," Michael Bay's "6 Underground" and Kathryn Bigelow's "House of Dynamite" — also fell short of expectations.

Netflix in crisis? 'Rigorous judgment needed'

[Getty Images]
[Getty Images]

Netflix recently named Peter Rice, former chairman of Disney General Entertainment, as its new chief content officer, Yonhap reported.

Rice will oversee global content strategy, taking over from Bela Bajaria, who served as CCO for a decade and became the face of the company's content direction.

The leadership change atop Netflix's content division was seen as part of a broader effort to address slowing growth and declining user engagement.

In a statement, Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos called Rice "one of the most effective leaders of large organizations in the entertainment industry," adding that he "knows what stories resonate and has spent his career helping talented people do the best work of their lives."

Rice will also take on Lin's film responsibilities until a successor is named.

Separately, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that Netflix plans to lay off about 1,000 employees worldwide — the largest round of job cuts since 2022.

Co-CEOs Greg Peters and Ted Sarandos told staff in an email that "our mission to entertain the world is an ambitious one, and to achieve it requires rigorous judgment about where to prioritize our people and resources."

The cuts are expected to fall primarily across product development, technology, legal and human resources divisions.


yul@heraldcorp.com