A former Apple executive has been appointed as chief executive of a new online video sports service, which will be a joint venture between ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery. Pete Distad was at Apple for ten years and before that was responsible for marketing and distribution at Hulu.
The sports service, announced in February and expected to launch in the autumn of 2024, will bring together the sports networks and certain direct-to-consumer sports services from across ESPN, ABC, Fox and TNT Sports, including all the major professional sports leagues and college sports. It is still subject to the negotiation of definitive agreements between the parties. It is likely to be available as part of a bundle with Disney+, Hulu, or Max. The name Hulu Sports has been floated but as yet no name or brand has been agreed.
“This is an incredible opportunity to build and grow a differentiated product that will serve passionate sports fans in the US outside of the traditional pay TV bundle,” said Pete Distad. “I’m excited to be able to pull together the industry-leading sports content portfolios from these three companies to deliver a new best-in-class service.”
On establishment of the joint venture, he will report to its board of directors, which will include representatives selected by each of the three companies. He will assemble an independent management team, based in Los Angeles.
In a joint statement, the prospective partners said: “Pete is an accomplished innovator and leader who has extensive experience with launching and growing new video services. We are confident he and his team will build an extremely compelling, fan-focused product for our target market.”
From 2013 to 2013, Pete Distad was at Apple, where he was responsible for the business, operations and global distribution for video, sports and Apple TV+. Before that he was at Hulu and was part of the original launch team, overseeing customer acquisition and retention, distribution and marketing. His previous experience was as a management consultant.
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