After Admitting That Netflix Focused On Quantity Over Quality, Film Chief Scott Stuber Leaves Streaming Giant To Start New Production Company
Josh Berger
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Chairman of Netflix Film Scott Stuber has announced that he will be leaving the streaming giant earlier this year, seeking to start his own film and television production company.
According to a report from Bloomberg, Stuber will still remain as film boss of Netflix until, at the very least, the Academy Awards ceremony that is expected to be hosted in March. The outlet reveals that, per sources familiar with the executive, he has already secured financing to start his new production endeavor.
While Netflix looks for a person to replace Stuber, the outlet notes, Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria will be in charge of the film division. Before ending his tenure with the streaming giant, the film chief will reportedly keep producing content that include projects currently in the works.
The executive released a statement thanking Netflix Co-Chief Ted Sarandos and Chairman Reed Hastings, declaring, “Seven years ago, Reed and Ted offered me the amazing opportunity to join Netflix and create a new home for original movies.”
“I am proud of what we accomplished and am so grateful to all the filmmakers and talent who trusted us to help tell their stories,” the Netflix Film boss concluded.
In a statement obtained by Variety, Sarandos said, “He attracted unbelievable creative talent to Netflix, making us a premiere film studio. Under his leadership, we’ve become the most nominated studio for three years in a row at the Academy Awards. Scott, thank you for your leadership and friendship and I can’t wait to see what’s next.”
Bajaria also weighed in on Stuber’s announcement, declaring, “What Scott has accomplished in seven years is nothing short of amazing.”
“He created a world-class film studio, not only by working with established filmmakers, but also finding and supporting first time creators. I hope to find new ways to continue to work together,” she concluded.
Interestingly, in November of last year, Stuber made some comments that may have hinted at his discontent with the direction Netflix had been taking, admitting that the streaming giant had not been focusing on quality but on quantity instead.
“We were growing a new studio. We’d only been doing this for a few years, and we were up against 100-year-old companies. So you have to ask yourself, ‘What is your business model?’ And for a while it was just making sure that we had enough. We needed volume,” Stuber told Variety at the time.
RELATED: Netflix Film Boss Scott Stuber Admits Company Did Not Focus On Quality, Promises Course Correct
Without specifically dropping names, the Netflix chairman allude to studios such as he Walt Disney Company, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Paramount as the reason the streaming company had made the decision to focus on quantity over quality.
“So we had to go all over the world buying as much as we could to make sure that we had the volume our consumers were used to seeing,” Stuber said, explaining, “Right now, we’re not trying to hit a set number of film releases. It’s about ‘Let’s make what we believe in.’”
He went on, “And let’s actually put forth a slate that we can stand behind and say, ‘This is the best version of a romantic comedy. This is the best version of a thriller. This is the best version of a drama.’We’re a machine that was built to go, go, go. And that doesn’t always result in quality.”
“A lot of streaming companies made the mistake of moving so fast that we made a lot of things that weren’t ready to be produced. I want to avoid that,” he added.
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