Netflix Hires Former Apple Exec Steve Wilson to Lead Podcast Acquisitions

Former Apple Podcasts executive Steve Wilson has joined Netflix to advise on its burgeoning podcast strategy.

Wilson will be in charge of podcast content acquisition at Netflix and will start out as consultant. Netflix confirmed the appointment of Wilson. Bloomberg first reported on the hire.

Before the appointment, Wilson spent 15 years at Apple, including working in editorial, partner relations and the marketing of shows for Apple Podcasts. He recently left podcast and creator content company Daylight Media, after working at QCODE, where he worked as chief strategy officer.

His hiring suggests a more serious push by Netflix into podcasts, particularly as the streamer recently announced plans to cut about 6 percent of its workforce, or about 1,000 people, making it the largest staff reduction at the company since 2022. Those layoffs, Netflix said, were coming as the streamer examined areas they were “overinvested in,” and also included the cuts from its upper ranks, including chief content officer Bela Bajaria, film chief Dan Lin and VP of film Doug Belgrad and a series of high-ranking television executives, in a revamp of content strategy.

Still, Netflix’s long-term interest in podcasts remains unclear.

The streamer made its first big move into podcasts in November 2025, when Netflix announced a partnership with Spotify in October for a select number of video podcasts from Spotify Studios and The Ringer, including The Bill Simmons Podcast, The Zach Lowe Show, The McShay Show, The Rewatchables and Conspiracy Theories. Netflix has since expanded into licensing podcasts from iHeartMedia and Barstool, as well as launched its own podcasts including The Pete Davidson Show and signing with creators including Jay Shetty and Charlemagne Tha God.

The move, which requires exclusivity for the podcasts on the platform, has been largely seen as an effort to compete with entertainment behemoth YouTube, as well as to bring in more viewers during the daytime hours. However, Netflix has not released viewing stats for the podcasts, nor has it made a full-scale push into medium.