Why did Netflix replace Bela Bajaria, and what did Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway make of it?

Netflix replaced chief content officer Bela Bajaria with former Disney executive Peter Rice and fired film chief Dan Lin, with its stock down nearly 40% over a year and about a thousand staff laid off. Kara Swisher said the co-CEOs and CFO above Bajaria escaped blame and that making her oversee layoffs before her exit was classless. Scott Galloway agreed she will be fine but argued the real issue is format: viewers are drifting to YouTube, short-form video, sports and podcasts.

• Bajaria oversaw a content budget of about $20 billion; Lin had greenlit or acquired 88 films since 2024.
• Galloway said YouTube holds about 14% of streaming viewing against Netflix's 7%, and Netflix growth of 13% a year is no longer tech-level growth.
• Swisher compared the exit to Cindy Holland's ouster at Paramount, where the men above her stayed.

▸In their words

“It's not that the food at the buffet or the content is the wrong content or the wrong food. It's that people aren't hungry.” Scott Galloway · at 39:11 — open in the transcript →

“Just like what a classless way to treat an executive who's done a really good job for you.” Kara Swisher · at 36:37 — open in the transcript →

Source: our own transcription of the episode. The full conversation is on Pivot (2026-10-20). Read the whole episode summary →

▸More from this episode