Tag: Greg Peters

Netflix Has No Plans to Pay For EU Network Upgrades

Netflix has thrown cold water on hopes that it would pay a “tax” to help internet service providers upgrade their networks.

Proposals in the EU have been growing to try to force some Big Tech companies to pay for various network upgrades. The companies being targeted are those that are seen as the primary drivers of network traffic, including Netflix, Microsoft, Apple, Google, Amazon, and Meta. ISPs have been clamoring for them to contribute to network upgrades and the EU Commission is considering such proposals.

According to El País, Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters said the company has no plans to contribute to network upgrades, saying it would have an “adverse effect” on content.

“Some of our ISP partners have proposed taxing entertainment companies to subsidize their network infrastructure… [which] would have an adverse effect, reducing investment in content – hurting the creative community, hurting the attractiveness of higher-priced broadband packages, and ultimately hurting consumers,” Peters said at the 2023 World Mobile Congress in Barcelona.

Peters also warned the “tax” would inevitably expand to include more companies.

“This will inevitably change over time as broadcasters shift from linear to streaming,” said Peters.

March 2, 2023
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings Steps Down, Co-CEOs to Replace Him

Reed Hastings is stepping down as CEO of Netflix, vacating a position he has held since 1999, after co-founding the company in 1997.

Netflix has faced new challenges in recent quarters, experiencing its first subscriber drop in nearly a decade. The company rallied, however, and has once again been posting subscriber growth.

With the company’s future relatively secure, Hastings is stepping down as CEO and following a succession plan that has been in the works for years. Hastings is being replaced by Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters, who will serve the company as co-CEOs.

“Our board has been discussing succession planning for many years (even founders need to evolve!),” Hastings wrote in a blog post. “As part of that process, we promoted Ted to co-CEO alongside me in July 2020, and Greg to Chief Operating Officer – and in the last 2½ years I’ve increasingly delegated the management of Netflix to them.

“It was a baptism by fire, given COVID and recent challenges within our business. But they’ve both managed incredibly well, ensuring Netflix continues to improve and developing a clear path to reaccelerate our revenue and earnings growth. So the board and I believe it’s the right time to complete my succession.”

According to Hastings, the change is effective immediately, with him taking on the role of Executive Chairman.

“Starting today, Greg Peters will step up from COO to become Ted’s co-CEO,” Hastings continues. “Going forward, I’ll be serving as Executive Chairman, a role that founders often take (Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, etc.) after they pass the CEO baton to others. Ted, Greg and I have been working closely together in different capacities for 15 years. As is common in long, effective relationships, we’ve all learned how to bring out the best in each other. I look forward to working with them in this role for many years to come.”

January 19, 2023
Netflix Taps Snap Exec to Run Its Ad Business

As Netflix rolls out an ad-supported tier, the company has poached a top exec from Snap to take the lead.

Jeremi Gorman was Snap’s Chief Business Officer and ran the platform’s ad business. According to The Verge, Gorman is leaving Snap to help run Netflix’s ad-based endeavors.

“Jeremi’s deep experience in running ad businesses and Peter’s background in leading ad sales teams together will be key as we expand membership options for consumers through a new ad-supported offering,” Netflix COO Greg Peters said in a statement.

Netflix was long-rumored to be working on an ad-supported plan as the company looked to revive its subscriber growth. The company reported its first subscriber loss in nearly a decade in 2022, adding further impetus to the need for a cheaper, ad-supported plan.

After rumors it would tap Google or NBCUniversal to help it deploy its ad program, Netflix ultimately turned to Microsoft to assist it.

“Microsoft has the proven ability to support all our advertising needs as we work together to build a new ad-supported offering,” Peters wrote at the time. “More importantly, Microsoft offered the flexibility to innovate over time on both the technology and sales side, as well as strong privacy protections for our members.”

With the hiring of Gorman, Netflix’s plans are coming into focus more and more.

August 31, 2022
Netflix Taps Microsoft to Help It Roll Out an Ad-Supported Tier

Netflix is moving forward with its plans for an ad-supported tier, tapping Microsoft to help it develop the necessary infrastructure.

Netflix has been looking for ways to increase growth, especially after the company reported its first subscriber loss in nearly a decade. One of the main options the company has been looking at is an ad-supported tier, but rolling it out requires an infrastructure that Netflix does not currently have.

After earlier reports indicated the company was looking at Google or NBCUniversal for assistance, the company has chosen Microsoft instead.

“Today we are pleased to announce that we have selected Microsoft as our global advertising technology and sales partner,” writes Greg Peters, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Product Officer.

“Microsoft has the proven ability to support all our advertising needs as we work together to build a new ad-supported offering. More importantly, Microsoft offered the flexibility to innovate over time on both the technology and sales side, as well as strong privacy protections for our members.”

The announcement is a big win for Microsoft and will hopefully help Netflix turn its fortunes around.

July 13, 2022
Netflix Adds Position To Help Get Devices Delivering A Better Netflix Experience

Netflix has added a new position called Chief Platform Officer, and has appointed VP of Product Development, Greg Peters, to the position. GigaOm points to an SEC filing showing the news.

The document is dated for July 30th, so it’s been a couple weeks, and Netflix has not made a formal statement about the issue. Nor has it commented on the matter to the media.

Peters’ LinkedIn profile still has VP of Product Development as his title.

Prior to Netflix, Peters held positions at Macrovision, Mediabolic and Red Hat. His previous co-workers seem to hold him in high regards.

David Goldberg, who worked with him at Mediabolic has this to say about him on LinkedIn: “Greg is an excellent manager – probably one of the best I have seen. While at Mediabolic, he took the engineering team from a group of talented people, to a crack team that hit all major milestones for perhaps 25 simultaneous projects. The company was a startup, so some amount of ‘overworking’ is typical I guess. However, Greg was great at managing team fatigue and keeping his finger on the pulse of each engineer – and at reporting these issues in a professional manner to management so that corrective action could be taken quickly and effectively. I could not recommend Greg more as a manager or colleague.”

“Greg’s management style creates predictable expectations of the engineers and sets predictable outcomes on which the rest of the organization relies to do business,” said Chris Bogart, who reported to Peters at NOCpulse.

Janko Roettgers, who broke the news of Peters’ promotion at GigaOm, suggests that his job isn’t changing much beyond a new title and possibly better pay, but notes that Netflix needs TVs to get better at handling its content. This will surely be an increasingly important task as more and more devices come to market.

The company must also work to get its new user profiles feature working on as many devices as possible.

August 12, 2013