Hulu names Fox's Randy Freer as its new CEO

Anthony Ha
Updated
NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 28: Fox Networks Group President Fox Networks Randy Freer speaks onstage at the Fox NFL Town Hall panel at The Town Hall during 2016 Advertising Week New York on September 28, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images for Advertising Week New York)

Hulu's current CEO Mike Hopkins is departing, with board member Randy Freer taking his place.

Hopkins is leaving to run the TV business at Sony. Freer, meanwhile, has been serving as president and chief operating officer of Fox Networks. In that sense, he's following a similar path, since Hopkins moved from Fox to Hulu back in 2013. (Fox, Disney, Comcast and Time Warner own the streaming service.)

Under Hopkins' leadership, Hulu has launched a live TV service and it's moved aggressively into original programming, with plans to spend $2.5 billion on content this year. And it recently had its biggest critical win to date with The Handmaid's Tale winning the Emmy Award for Best Drama.

"Hulu is at the center of transformation in entertainment," Freer said in the announcement. "Hulu’s management team and employees have positioned Hulu to be a leader in defining the future of content creation, distribution and monetization – all while putting the viewer first."