RANDY FREER LEAVES HIS ROLE AS CEO OF HULU

Randy Freer, CEO of Hulu, is leaving his role as the Head of the streaming service. The move comes as Disney, which now controls the totality of Hulu after acquiring 21st Century Fox and buying out Comcast, looks to more closely integrate the streamer with its Direct-to-Consumer & International division under Kevin Mayer.

Freer will remain in his role for the next weeks to ensure a smooth transition. The veteran executive has been in the lead role of Hulu since 2017. Prior to joining the company, he was the President and COO of Fox Networks Group. Before that, he served as Co-President and COO of Fox Sports Media Group.

“I am grateful for my time at Hulu, and the opportunity to work and learn with an incredibly talented and dedicated group of people,”  Freer said. “I also want to thank Kevin and The Walt Disney Company, as well as NBCUniversal and Fox, for providing me the opportunity to lead Hulu during a time of tremendous growth and significant industry transformation. Hulu has established itself as a leading choice for consumers looking for the best TV service available today, and I am confident Hulu will thrive inside Disney under DTCI’s leadership and resources,”  he added.

On the other hand, Mayer, Chairman of Disney Direct-to-Consumer & International, commented: “I want to thank Randy for his leadership the last two years as CEO and for his collaboration the past several months to ensure an exceptionally bright future for Hulu. With the successful launch of Disney+, we are now focused on the benefits of scale within and across our portfolio of DTC businesses. Further integrating the immensely talented Hulu team into our organization will allow us to more effectively and efficiently deploy resources, rapidly grow our presence outside the US and continue to relentlessly innovate. There is a tremendous amount of opportunity ahead, and I am confident in our ability to accelerate our positive momentum and better serve consumers”.