Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings steps down as CEO of streaming company

Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings, the entrepreneur who reshaped the media landscape and led the charge into streaming, announced he is stepping down as co-chief executive of the company on Thursday.

Netflix has been under pressure from restrained consumer spending and competition from Walt Disney Co, Amazon and others spending billions of dollars to make TV shows and movies for online audiences.

In the first half of 2022, Netflix shocked Wall Street by losing customers. The company returned to growth in the second half.

Hastings started Netflix 25 years ago with serial entrepreneur Marc Randolph. Initially, his rivals were rental chains like Blockbuster, which ceased operations in 2014. In 2007 the company launched a streaming service and shook up the media world, encouraging traditional and tech players to start their own services.

On Thursday Netflix said it had finished the year with 231m paid memberships and announced that it had added 7.7 million new customers over the last quarter, better than the expected 4.5 million new subscribers it had first predicted it would add during the period.

Reuters contributed to this article