Netflix's Bela Bajaria to Receive Variety-Mipcom Vanguard Award

Netflix chief content officer Bela Bajaria will receive the Vanguard Award from Variety and Mipcom at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes on Oct. 12, capping a decade-long build-out of local-language production that now spans 50 languages and more than 50 countries.

The award coincides with Mipcom, the international content marketplace running Oct. 12-15. Bajaria will take part in an onstage conversation with Cynthia Littleton, Variety's co-editor in chief.

What scale does Netflix's local-language slate now reach?

The numbers Bajaria reels off give a sense of the scope. Netflix operates a $20 billion content budget and offices in 27 countries. The streamer reaches subscribers in more than 190 countries and transacts business in 45 currencies. It has worked with more than 2,000 local production outfits over the last 10 years. That work has generated 425,000 production jobs worldwide.

Regional commitments underscore the depth. In Mexico, Netflix works with more than 50 local production companies and has pledged $1 billion on content targeted for the country from 2025-2028. In Korea, the company has committed $2.5 billion to content from 2023-2027.

Why did Netflix bet so heavily on local hubs?

Bajaria joined Netflix in 2016 to lead unscripted content after 15 years in scripted television at CBS and as head of NBC's Universal Television. In 2019, she was promoted to run the international originals strategy and began building out country offices in Tokyo, Seoul and Bangkok, while expanding the Mumbai presence with local creative executives.

Bajaria told Variety the rationale was that "to become a global company and to do local storytelling, it's going to take the investment and local hiring. It wasn't really one region at a time."

The push paid off as Korea's "Squid Game," France's "Lupin" and Spain's "La Casa de Papel" became global phenomena. Bajaria was promoted to chief content officer in January 2023, assuming oversight of original films, TV series, live events and sports rights.

What does Bajaria say about the model?

"There's no road map for this — local programming is unprecedented at this scale," Bajaria said.

She frames every Netflix production as a deeply local one, made with executives who live in the country, speak the language and grew up in the business.

"We understand that great storytelling can come from anywhere, and now the discovery and technology give you access to all of these stories from around the world," Bajaria said. "Every Netflix production is a very deeply local production — that means from local creative executives in that creative community who live there, who speak the language, who grew up in that business."

Who is weighing in?

Shonda Rhimes, who signed her Shondaland deal with Netflix in 2017, calls Bajaria "decisive" and "frank." Rhimes moved her company to Netflix from Disney about 18 months after Netflix opened its international doors in January 2016.

"She's very frank with me," Rhimes said. "I don't do well with platitudes, and I don't do well with people talking in metaphors or trying to say something in a passive way. Bela's like 'That didn't work for me,' and I really appreciate that in a world in which I think most people don't want to tell you exactly what they think."

Rhimes' "Bridgerton," set in Regency-era England, dropped on Christmas Day 2020 and rocketed Regé-Jean Page to stardom. The simultaneous global release reshaped her sense of what the platform can do.

"That was such a tremendous feeling to know that it was conversation everywhere — literally globally," Rhimes said. "There's something about it that allows me to think less in terms of American stories and more in terms of placing things in a more international way."

What subscriber numbers anchor the strategy?

By the end of 2025, Netflix counted 325 million total subscribers. The U.S. and Canada combined accounted for about 95 million, or roughly 29%. Europe, the Middle East and Africa delivered about 109 million, followed by Asia-Pacific with 65 million and Latin America with 59 million.

What comes next for the slate?

Bajaria points to titles including "Chestnut Man" from the Nordics and "Blood of Sacrifice" from Sweden as examples of audience discovery. She maintains that storytelling itself, not language, is what hooks a viewer.

"When I click play, I'm watching it as fresh eyes," Bajaria said. "Storytelling is universal. Either you go for the ride or you don't."

The Vanguard Award lands as Netflix continues seeding franchises built to travel, with regional commitments in Mexico and Korea running into the late 2020s.