Meet Netflix’s Ted Sarandos, the “Mayor of Hollywood” claiming the top power spot
Hollywood’s center of gravity keeps tilting toward Ted Sarandos, whose clout just leveled up enough to make him the town’s default power player.
The crowning came as Netflix was gutting and rebuilding its org chart: layoffs of roughly 1,000 employees and a content shake-up that pushed out top film executives while elevating a new creative boss. On the company’s Q3 2026 earnings call, Ted Sarandos defended the overhaul and conceded the streamer “could do better,” even as he was being anointed Hollywood ’s most powerful executive elsewhere.
The 2026 power list from The Town with Matt Belloni — assembled by Belloni and Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw — ranked clout in practical terms: who can greenlight projects, spend the money, and set talent paydays. While they debated the middle of the pack, they agreed on No. 1.
“In terms of calls getting returned, he is kind of the mayor of Hollywood,” said Belloni.
“Iger used to be the clear number one.”
Belloni and Shaw’s case for Sarandos was less sexy than it was overwhelming: about 325 million Netflix subscribers worldwide and a market cap near $255 billion — still ahead of Disney, even after what they noted was nearly a 50% stock slide over the past year. They also pointed to his singular veto power over Netflix theatrical runs; if Sarandos opts to push out 10 to 15 big-budget movies to theaters, that alone could jolt the film business. And unlike some tech chiefs, he actually shows up — at premieres and even the Golden Globes.
One bit of color from the list-making: when creative heavyweights like Christopher Nolan and Taylor Sheridan weighed in, they were told this one was for executives only. Belloni and Shaw shuffled the rest of the deck, but Sarandos never budged from the top slot.
Inside Netflix’s shake-up
Back at the office, the cuts began October 14, landing mostly on product, technology, legal and HR teams. The same week, Netflix remade its content suite: chief content officer Bela Bajaria was replaced by Peter Rice, and film head Dan Lin, his deputy Doug Belgrad, and executive Carolina Garcia exited.
Sarandos praised Bajaria’s international team on the call and framed Rice — whom he’s known for 15 years — as a rare leader who’s done time across broadcast networks, studios, streaming and live sports. Rice, a former Walt Disney Television chair, officially started October 26 with talent relations cited as a key asset.
The backdrop: Netflix engagement grew just 2% in the first half of 2026, according to the company, while in July YouTube commanded 14.2% of connected-TV viewing versus 7.8% for Netflix.