Bela Bajaria

Meet the Woman Behind the Year’s Biggest Shows and Events

No content platform has ever served up the volume of programs in a multitude of languages that Netflix has in recent years, according to Variety, and sitting atop that lofty tower is Bela Bajaria, the company’s Chief Content Officer. Bajaria, who grew up in an Indian American family watching reruns of Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie, now oversees a $17 billion content budget and manages hundreds of programming executives in 27 countries. Bajaria led the streaming platform’s push into live events in recent years with specials like The Roast of Tom Brady, and she also orchestrated several deals that brought WWE programming, NFL games, and other sports events to Netflix for the first time. That includes the Mike Tyson-Jake Paul fight — the most-streamed sporting event ever. Her efforts aren’t going unnoticed. According to CNBC, last year Netflix received the most nominations for a single studio at both the Oscars and the Emmys, with 107 nominations across 35 series, TV movies, and specials.

By Audrey Goodson Kingo