Disney Entertainment has promoted Adam Smith to chairman of the Direct-to-Consumer division and appointed Joe Earley to the newly created role of television franchise and content strategy president.
In his expanded role, Smith will oversee strategy, development and platform innovation at Disney+ and Hulu, including its product and engineering teams, adtech, emerging technologies, programming strategy, viewer experience, partnerships and data & analytics.
Meanwhile, Earley will lead the strategic development of Disney Entertainment Television franchises to maximize their value and create new opportunities to engage audiences and drive the business forward. That includes oversight of all content and production for international originals, production, labor relations and creative talent development.
“Disney has the best storytellers and the most passionate fandom in the world, and I couldn’t be prouder of what this team has built together,” Smith said in a statement. “We’ve established real momentum, and our vision ahead is clear: make Disney+ the connection point for fans everywhere to engage with the full breadth and depth of the broader Disney ecosystem. I’m grateful for this team, energized by what’s ahead, and excited for our next chapter.”
Smith joined Disney in 2024, serving as Disney Entertainment and ESPN’s chief product and technology officer and Direct-to-Consumer co-president. Prior to joining Disney, he spent over 20 years at Google and YouTube, where he held executive roles across numerous divisions.
“Over the past two years, Adam has done an exceptional job building a world-class team of product and technology leaders and has significantly enhanced the Disney+ user experience globally,” Disney President and Chief Creative Officer Dana Walden said. “Alan Bergman and I are pleased to recognize the tremendous impact he has had on our direct-to-consumer business since he joined Disney, and we are confident that he is the right leader to meet the critical moment we’re in and take us to the next level.”
Earley joined Disney in 2019 to oversee Disney+’s global marketing and operations in the lead up to its launch and was named president of Hulu in 2022, where he led the platform’s suite of on-demand and live streaming businesses. He most recently service as Direct-to-Consumer co-president and head of content strategy. Prior to Disney, he worked in a variety of content, communications, marketing and operations roles at Fox.
“Joe has been an exceptional leader for our direct-to-consumer business over the past four years, and I am deeply grateful for his partnership and meaningful contributions,” Walden added. “He is a talented executive with a rare combination of business acumen and creative instincts, and Debra OConnell and I could not be more excited to welcome him to the leadership team at Disney Entertainment Television.”
The new leadership structure is designed to create a “clear focus and alignment across critical business functions” as Disney+ transforms into the “digital centerpiece” for the company’s portfolio, which includes film and TV, sports, parks & experiences, merchandise and gaming. Elements of that vision will start being introduced in the spring.
Disney+ and Hulu remain on track to become a unified standalone app by year end. Executives have also teased that Disney+ is exploring the launch of a free streaming tier to boost engagement and subscriber growth and that the service is “well positioned” to become an aggregator of third-party streaming services through both bundles and add-ons.
Over the next three years, Disney+ also will triple the number of local original series available on the platform to drive new sign-ups internationally and reduce churn. The company is also launching a pilot with TikTok in the U.S. in the coming months that will bring Disney-centric fan-created content to Disney+’s Verts feed.
Additional leadership details will be announced at a later date.
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