David Wells


Netflix CFO David Wells steps down

Netflix’s chief financial officer David Wells is to step down after helping the company choose his successor. Wells, who joined Netflix in 2004 and has served as CFO since 2010, will stay until a successor takes the role for a smooth transition. The search for a new candidate will include both internal and external applicants. […]

Netflix expecting 700 originals by year-end

Pay streaming giant Netflix expects its US$8 billion content investment in 2018 to result in 700 originals on the service by year-end. Netflix CFO David Wells told delegates at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media and Telecom Conference that 80 of those would be produced outside the US. “Let’s continue to add content,” he said. “It’s […]

Netflix value exceeds $100bn as subs hit record level

Netflix added 24 million new users in 2017 and reported its highest ever quarter for new sign ups in Q4, capping a strong year of growth for the web streaming giant, which is now valued at more than US$100 billion for the first time. Announcing its fourth quarter results, Netflix said that it topped its […]

Netflix CFO defends $6bn content spend

Netflix financial chief David Wells has claimed Netflix’s multi-billion dollar content spend is the key factor in the international SVOD service’s subscription growth. CFO Wells reiterated Ted Sarandos’ recent admission Netflix would spend US$7 billion on shows – mostly original content such as Narcos (pictured) – in 2018, and has said spending US$20 million an hour on […]

Netflix hires ex-Universal TV exec as content VP

Netflix has appointed former Universal Television president Bela Bajaria as its vice-president of content. Bajaria will lead the team at Netflix responsible for licensing content from the major US studios, including her former employer NBCUniversal, and agreeing coproduction deals with the major US networks. She will also oversee a new team developing original unscripted programmes […]

Netflix aims for half-original content line-up

Netflix aims to move to a 50-50 split between licensed and original content, according to the company’s chief finance officer, David Wells. Speaking at Goldman Sachs’ 25th Annual Communacopia Conference in New York yesterday, Wells said that the subscription video-on-demand giant will be “pushing more and more” towards its goal of half original exclusive content. […]

Netflix passes 75 million users

Netflix passed the 75 million member mark on January 1 after adding more than 17 million users last year, according to its latest quarterly report. In a letter to shareholders, Narcos network Netflix said that it added a record 5.59 million members in the fourth quarter of 2015, exceeding its forecast of 5.15 million and […]

Netflix passes 65m, confirms China plans

Netflix passed the 65 million subscriber-mark in the second quarter and confirmed plans to launch in China next year as part of its ongoing expansion efforts. For three months ending June 30, Netflix said it added a record 3.3 million new streaming members – exceeding its Q2 forecast of 2.5 million net additions and almost […]

Netflix to complete global expansion in two years

Netflix has said it plans to complete its global expansion, while staying profitable, over the next two years, outlining plans to up its footprint from 50 to 200 countries. In a letter to shareholders to announce its fourth quarter 2014 results, Netflix said that it plans to launch in Australia and New Zealand in late […]

Netflix may speed up international expansion in 2015

Netflix is prepping “sizable expansion” in international markets next year and may speed up the rate of new roll outs over 2014. The US-listed streaming service recently rolled out in six European territories – France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium and Luxembourg – in addition to its Nordic and UK and Ireland services, which were already available […]