Netflix Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria will receive the 2026 International Emmy Founders Award at the 54th International Emmy Awards on November 23 in New York City.
“Bela Bajaria is among the most consequential executives in television today,” said International Academy President & CEO Bruce L. Paisner. “She has built a global content operation of remarkable scale and creative ambition, in which stories told in any language can become worldwide phenomena. Her leadership has produced some of the most celebrated programming of our era. We are thrilled to present her with the International Emmy Founders Award.”
“I am deeply honored to receive this recognition from the International Academy, whose mission reflects everything I believe about what television can be,” said Bajaria. “The stories that have resonated most with audiences around the world are the ones rooted in a specific place, a specific truth — and what we have proven, over and over, is that authenticity travels. That is a gift I never take for granted, and I am so proud of the extraordinary creators and teams who make it possible every day.”
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As Netflix’s Chief Content Officer, Bajaria oversees a global content operation which reaches nearly one billion people in over 190 countries in more than 50 languages. During her tenure, Bajaria has overseen massive hits such as Stranger Things, Squid Game, Wednesday and Bridgerton and feature films including KPop Demon Hunters, Frankenstein and Train Dreams. She also has spearheaded Netflix’s expansion into live programming and sports, securing multiyear partnerships with the WWE, NFL, and MLB.
Past recipients of the International Emmy Founders Award include Steven Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey, J.J. Abrams, Jesse Armstrong, Shonda Rhimes, Ryan Murphy, David E. Kelley, and most recently, Disney President and Chief Creative Officer Dana Walden.
