Sick of scrolling Netflix for something good? You’re not alone

November 5, 2026 — 5:30am

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Netflix is in a slump. Audiences know it, and so does the streaming giant. The proof? People with very big offices are getting sacked.

Netflix, which has approximately 325 million subscribers globally, recently fired its chief content officer Bela Bajaria and head of film Dan Lin, along with about 1000 other staff members (6 per cent of the company’s headcount). The two were the most senior programming voices at Netflix. Canning them is a very public way of saying that change is on the way.

Netflix has always considered itself a tech company, disrupting traditional network and cable television, which meant that it lived – and in this case, died – by what the data said. Bloomberg recently reported that viewer engagement was down, which is anathema for a Silicon Valley company predicated on growth. Subscribers are opening Netflix fewer days per month, and spending less time on the platform when they do.

Streaming analysts have all manner of explanations for what’s going on, some of which is tied to Wall Street and the slumping Netflix stock price, which has dropped 44 per cent in the past 12 months. But Netflix’s malaise starts on the platform’s home screen. The company’s signature “tudum” sound effect still raises expectations, but the reality hasn’t been so good this year in terms of scripted content.

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Bajaria’s stint, which began........

© The Age