Netflix Hires Former Apple Podcasts Executive Steve Wilson to Lead Podcast Acquisitions

Netflix has hired Steve Wilson, a former Apple Podcasts executive, to lead podcast content acquisition as the streamer continues to build out its catalog of video podcasts. Bloomberg first reported the hire on Monday, Oct. 26, and Netflix confirmed the appointment, according to The Hollywood Reporter and the industry newsletter Podnews. Variety, Deadline and TheWrap also reported the move.

Wilson will start out as a consultant, The Hollywood Reporter said. Variety reported that he will lead the company's podcast content acquisitions on a contract basis, and Deadline said he has been contracted by the streamer to lead its podcast acquisitions. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Fifteen years at Apple Podcasts

Wilson spent 15 years at Apple, where he worked across editorial, partner relations and marketing, according to Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter. TheWrap reported that he was at Apple from 2006 to 2020 and was one of the earliest members of the Apple Podcasts team. Variety said he most recently headed marketing for Apple Podcasts, partnered with podcasters and networks, and left the company in December 2020.

After Apple, Wilson became chief strategy officer at QCODE. TheWrap described Daylight Media as the company formerly named QCODE and said he served as its chief strategy officer from 2020 to 2026. Variety described the two as separate stops, reporting that he spent nearly six years at QCode before joining Daylight Media in the same position. Deadline said his QCODE role covered partnerships, marketing, distribution and content strategy.

QCODE produced scripted podcasts including "The Prophecy" with Kerry Washington, "Carrier" starring Cynthia Erivo and "Blackout" with Rami Malek, as well as "The Edge of Sleep" with creator Markiplier, TheWrap reported.

In a LinkedIn post announcing his exit from Daylight last month, quoted by TheWrap, Wilson wrote: "If you've worked with me for any amount of time, you know I'm happiest building." He added: "I've been thinking a lot about what creators actually need from platforms, and about community and in-person at a moment when trust online is thin. More soon."

Netflix's podcast slate

Netflix's first major podcast move came through a partnership with Spotify, announced in October 2025, covering select video podcasts from Spotify Studios and The Ringer, including "The Bill Simmons Podcast," "The Zach Lowe Show" and "The Rewatchables," The Hollywood Reporter reported. The streamer has since licensed podcasts from iHeartMedia and Barstool, according to the same report.

Variety reported that Netflix offers more than 60 video podcasts. Its original video podcasts include "The Pete Davidson Show," "Shut Up Evan" hosted by Evan Ross Katz, "Murder With My Husband," "The Puzzle Room With David Kwong" and "Allegedly," a true-crime podcast from NBC News correspondent Ellison Barber, according to Variety.

Licensed shows on the platform include Jay Shetty's "On Purpose" and Jake Shane's "Therapuss," TheWrap reported. Deadline said Netflix recently expanded its video partnership with iHeartMedia to add podcasts from Martha Stewart, Kate Hudson and her brother Oliver Hudson, and Lele Pons, and began streaming Charlamagne Tha God's live show "The Breakfast Club" in May.

Netflix has not released viewing figures for its podcasts, The Hollywood Reporter reported, and TheWrap noted that the company left video podcasts out of its viewership data for the first half of 2026.

Hire follows layoffs and leadership changes

The appointment comes two weeks after Netflix announced it would cut about 6% of its workforce, roughly 1,000 jobs, Variety reported. According to an email to employees from co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters cited by Variety, the cuts primarily affected product, technology, legal and HR teams. The co-CEOs wrote in the memo: "Our mission — to entertain the world — is ambitious, and delivering on it requires us to be disciplined about where we prioritize our people and resources."

The company has also overhauled its content leadership. Chief content officer Bela Bajaria, film chief Dan Lin and film executive Doug Belgrad were among the executives pushed out, according to Variety and The Hollywood Reporter. Veteran television executive Peter Rice was named to replace Bajaria, Variety and Deadline reported, and TheWrap said Wilson's appointment came just over a week after that change.