- Hulu CEO Randy Freer is set to exit the streaming company, Disney announced on Friday.
- The streaming company’s leadership will report to execs within Disney’s direct-to-consumer and international business as part of a reorganization.
- Disney is bringing Hulu closer to help scale all of its platforms more quickly, it said.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Hulu CEO Randy Freer is stepping down from the streaming company as Disney brings Hulu deeper into its streaming segment, Disney announced on Friday.
Leaders at Hulu will report directly to execs within Disney’s direct-to-consumer and international business as part of the reorganization.
The leadership change comes after Disney agreed in May to acquire Comcast’s minority stake in Hulu and take full ownership of the streaming company. Disney has since made Hulu a key part of its streaming strategy as the general-audience complement to its family-friendly Disney Plus service and its sports-focused ESPN Plus platform.
The company is bringing Hulu closer to help scale all of its platforms more quickly, it said.
"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," Kevin Mayer, Disney's head of direct-to-consumer and international, said in a statement. "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 U.S. 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."
Freer said in a statement: "I am grateful for my time at Hulu, and the opportunity to work and learn with an incredibly talented and dedicated group of people. 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."
Freer will remain in his role for the next several weeks to help with the transition.
For more on Hulu's business, see our coverage on BI Prime:
- Hulu's head of HR reveals the 3 teams the company will be staffing up most in 2020: Hulu is beefing up its technology, marketing, and advertising-sales teams this year.
- Hulu's head of HR explains exactly what it takes to get a job at the streaming TV company in 2020: Candidates applying in 2020 should be prepared to show how they live up to Hulu's five core values and answer "knock-out questions" that could eliminate them from consideration.
- The Hulu exec leading product placement says its brand integrations rose 200% in the last year and explains how its strategy differs from rivals like Netflix: The streaming company is courting advertisers, not only on its platform but also in its original shows.