Pete Distad Named CEO of Disney-FOX-WBD Sports Streamer

Former Apple and Hulu executive Pete Distad has been named CEO of the new sports streaming service formed in a joint venture by ESPN, FOX and Warner Bros. Discovery.

Distad will have oversight of all aspects of the joint venture, including overall strategy, distribution, marketing, sales and more. Upon establishment of the JV, Distad will report to its board of directors, which will include representatives selected by each of the three companies. He will be based at the to-be-established offices of the joint venture in Los Angeles, along with the independent management team he will assemble.

Distad worked at Apple from 2013 to 2023, where he was responsible for the business, operations and global distribution for video, sports and Apple TV+. He was at Hulu from 2007 to 2013, including serving as senior VP of marketing and distribution. He was part of the original Hulu launch team, overseeing customer acquisition and retention, distribution and marketing.

“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. “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.”

ESPN, FOX and Warner Bros. Discovery added: “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.”