Hulu has promoted Lauren Tempest to General Manager. The role is effective immediately. “As we enter our next, critical, phase of growth for Hulu, I can think of no one better to lead us through the evolution than Lauren," President of Direct-to-consumer at Disney Entertainment Joe Earley, who confirmed the news said. “Over the past eight years, she has proven to be an exceptional partner and leader, while continuing to deliver the most in-demand content to our subscribers. The relationships she has built internally and externally have helped propel us forward, which is why I, and teams across Disney Entertainment, are excited for her to officially step into this role.”
Per the announcement, Tempest will be tasked with driving “overall business strategy." Hulu may find itself in a very different position in the near future. Currently, The Walt Disney Company is the majority shareholder of the streamer with Comcast’s NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. In 2019, Comcast announced it would be willing to cede its stake of the company to Disney as early as 2024, adding Hulu the list of streaming services the company wholly owns alongside Disney+ and Star+.
Before accepting her new role as General Manager, Tempest served as SVP of content partnerships, acquisitions and scheduling at Hulu since May 2022. In that role, she worked with Disney Television Studios, which includes 20th Television, 20th Animation Television, ABC Signature; Hulu Originals; FX; 20th Century Studios; and Searchlight Pictures. Tempest also worked with third-party partners for the company and is credited with contributing to major projects, such as FX’s “The Bear,” Dan Trachtenberg’s “Prey” and Hulu’s licensing of “Schitt’s Creek” were launched under her leadership. Prior to joining Hulu in 2015, Tempest worked for NBCUniversal’s USA Network. Based in Los Angeles, the executive is “excited to help lead and accelerate Hulu’s vision and strategy, particularly during such a major inflection point in the streaming industry.”
Initially, Disney CEO Bob Iger confirmed the launch of new Hulu content as early as this year. “There seems to be real value in having general entertainment combined with Disney+,” Iger told analysts during the company’s second-quarter earnings call. “And if, ultimately, Hulu is that solution… we’re bullish about that.”
As we enter our next, critical, phase of growth for Hulu, I can think of no one better to lead us through the evolution than Lauren," President of Direct-to-consumer at Disney Entertainment Joe Earley”
