Joe Earley Named President, Direct-to-Consumer For Disney Entertainment
Following all of the changes within Disney since Bob Iger’s return in November, Disney has announced that Joe Earley, who is the President of Hulu, has been promoted to President, Direct-to-Consumer, Disney Entertainment, so now he will run all of Disney’s streaming services, including Disney+ and Hulu.
Earley joined Disney in January 2019 to oversee Disney+ marketing and operations in the leadup to its hugely successful November launch that year, adding responsibility for content curation in 2021 as the service expanded to dozens of markets worldwide. He was named president of Hulu in January 2022. He will continue to be the leader of Hulu until a successor is identified, and in his new role, he will work closely with content teams around the company to continue to expand the company’s streaming efforts across both Disney+ and Hulu.
Disney’s streaming services are going through some major changes as it looks for profitability, with Disney leaving nothing on the table with regards to selling Hulu, which Disney will have to buy out Comcast’s 33% next year.
In a statement, Joe Earley said:
“Helping launch Disney+ was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and Hulu has been inspiring and rewarding. I’m incredibly grateful to Dana and Alan for their confidence and the opportunity to lead both of these incredible teams during this time of transformation across the streaming landscape.”
Joe Early will now report directly to Disney Entertainment leaders, Dana Walden and Alan Bergman, who said in a statement:
“Joe has proven himself to be an extraordinary asset and is uniquely positioned for this role as we guide Disney’s streaming strategy into the future. His vast industry experience and deep understanding of what sets our prestigious portfolio of brands apart will be essential as we build on our robust direct-to-consumer efforts. Joe is a talented, passionate leader, committed to creative excellence, and we look forward to partnering with him in this next chapter.”
Earley previously served as president of The Jackal Group, leading its television, film, commercial theater, and digital divisions, including productions ranging from Tidying Up with Marie Kondo to the MGM animated feature film The Addams Family. He served as a Fox executive for over two decades, including as chief operating officer for Fox Television Group, where he directly oversaw marketing and communications, digital, research, talent relations, scheduling, and audience strategy at Fox Broadcasting Company, and teamed with 20th Century Fox Television’s development, production, business affairs, marketing, and finance leads on strategic initiatives, in addition to overseeing its publicity and talent relations. Having joined Fox in 1994 as a senior publicist, he rose through the ranks at Fox Broadcasting to become president of Marketing & Communications and then its COO. Earley began his entertainment career in production and development with producer Gale Anne Hurd and spent several years in Media Relations at HBO before moving to Fox.
He has replaced Michael Paull, who will be leaving the company after six years. This is part of a major restructuring of the company, as over 7000 people are set to be let go from the company to save money.
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Roger Palmer
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