How Netflix’s Management Structure Is Rewriting the Hollywood Script

Of all the factors that explain Netflix’s success in upending the media industry, the least understood may be just how little it operates like a traditional media company.

At most studios and TV networks, decisions about whether to make a show or a movie can be made only by a handful of people atop the company, namely the president, a programming chief and a few other senior executives. But Netflix allows many people on its team—including people two rungs down from programming chief Ted Sarandos—to greenlight a new series or buy the streaming rights to a TV show. That sort of autonomy—known internally as “Freedom and Responsibility”— is replicated across other departments like marketing.

To give a clearer idea of how Netflix operates, we’ve put together for the first time an organizational chart (see above) of the management team with 80 names.