Netflix CEO Reed Hastings and other top executives will get big pay hikes in 2014 after a year that saw the home entertainment giant’s subscriber rolls swell and its stock soar on the strength of hit shows such as “Orange is the New Black” and “House of Cards.”
Hastings’ total compensation will increase by 50 percent to $6 million next year, according to regulatory filings. That includes $3 million in cash and stock options.
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Top deputy Ted Sarandos, who has been responsible for overseeing Netflix’s dive into original programming as its chief content officer, saw his total compensation increase from $4 million to $5 million, with $2.8 million coming in the form of salary. Chief Financial Officer David Wells will get a boost as well, with his pay package jumping from $1.1 million to $1.5 million.
In 2012, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings gave up stock options and saw his compensation fall by 41 percent as he sought to make amends for the subscriber backlash that greeted the company’s ill-conceived plan to spin off its DVD-by-mail business and raise prices on its most popular subscription package.
However, the company’s share price has soared this year, increasing nearly 300 percent to over $360 on the back of its more than 30 million streaming video subscribers.