Pete Distad Named CEO of Upcoming Disney-WBD-Fox Sports Streaming Service

Alex Weprin
·2 min read

The upcoming sports streaming service from Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox may not yet have a name, but it does have a CEO.

Pete Distad, a veteran of both Apple and Hulu, has been hired to be CEO of the new joint venture, which is hoping to launch its service later this year. The companies announced Distad’s hire Friday morning.

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“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,” Distad said in a statement. “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.”

Distad most recently worked at Apple, where he led business, operations and global distribution for Video, Sports and Apple TV+. Before Apple he worked at Hulu, where he worked on the original launch team and eventually rose to senior VP of marketing and distribution. He also previously worked at McKinsey.

In their press release, the companies suggest they they do not yet have a final definitive agreement on the service, writing that Distad will report to the JV’s board of directors “upon establishment.”

The service was announced in a shock move just last month, with plans to stream channels like ESPN, TNT, TBS and Fox in a slim bundle, with a sports-centric focus. The name, pricing and other details of the service are still TBD, underscoring how quickly it came together.

“Pete is an accomplished innovator and leader who has extensive experience with launching and growing new video services,” per a joint statement from the corporate owners. “We are confident he and his team will build an extremely compelling, fan-focused product for our target market.”

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