Netflix CEO Reed Hastings' 2011 Compensation Jumps 68 Percent to $9.3 Million

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings got compensation worth $9.3 million in 2011, up from $5.5 million in 2010 -- an increase of 68 percent.

our editor recommends

Analyst: Netflix Subscriber Growth May Disappoint

Netflix's Ted Sarandos Explains Original Content Strategy

The increase was driven by stock-option awards. The compensation details were disclosed in a regulatory filing Friday.

For 2011, Hastings got $500,000 in salary, down from $519,231 in 2010, and $8.8 million in option awards, up from $5 million.

But Netflix previously disclosed that Hastings' stock options have been cut in half for 2012, following a year of strategic stumbles that dragged the stock down by more than 60 percent last year. He will get $1.5 million worth of options this year, according to a previously submitted regulatory filing. Hastings has taken the blame for mismanaging a price increase that Netflix announced in July and then trying to spin off the company's DVD-by-mail rental business -- an idea that was quickly dropped.

Chief content officer Ted Sarandos earned $4.9 million in 2011, up from $2.4 million in 2010. The gain was driven by higher option awards of $4 million, up from $1.5 million in 2010.

E-mail: Georg.Szalai@thr.com

Twitter: @georgszalai