Netflix to appoint former Activision exec as new finance chief

Netflix has appointed a new finance chief to its executive team, filling a four-month-long hole left by the role's former occupant David Wells.

The streaming service said it has hired Spencer Neumann for the position, a veteran media executive who was most recently the chief financial officer for gaming firm Activision Blizzard.

As first reported by Reuters, Neumann will start his time at Netflix in early 2019.

The news comes after Activision Blizzard unexpectedly announced on Monday that it intended to fire Neumann for an unspecified reason "unrelated to the company’s financial reporting or disclosure controls and procedures".

Wells left Netflix in August, having been at the tech firm for 14 years and spending eight years as its finance chief. He cited Netflix's "strong financial position" at the time as a reason for needing a new executive.

Netflix's share price spiked more than 15 per cent when it reported its most recent financial results in October, having hit £3bn in revenue and 135m paid subscribers.

Neumann will be the latest executive to join Netflix from the ranks of Walt Disney alumni, after the firm said it had appointed former Disney exec Christie Fleischer to its team in September.

Netflix previously held a long-running deal with Disney on movie-streaming rights, however that relationship has since faltered. Disney is planning to remove most of its TV shows and films, including the successful Marvel Comics franchise, from the platform later this year.