Credit: Disney/HuluToday Hulu announced that its CEO, Randy Freer, will be stepping down from his post, and it’s not because he hates his job.
Last May, Disney took “full operational control” of the Hulu online streaming service, and the House of Mouse has plans to “more closely integrate Hulu” into its business operations, meaning Hulu executives would report to Disney’s executives in its direct-to-consumer and international divisions.
Hulu began as a joint venture with NBC Universal, New Corporation, and others. Over time, Disney has slowly grown its ownership stake in the service, but Comcast was its last remaining partner. But in May, Comcast relinquished its control and further agreed to sell its stake in the venture to Disney–a process that will take place over the next five years.
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“I’m grateful for my time at Hulu,” Freer said. “I also want to thank Kevin Mayer and The Walt Disney Company for providing me the opportunity to lead Hulu during a time of tremendous growth.”
Disney’s Kevin Mayer also issued a statement today, saying that “further integrating the immensely talented Hulu team into our organization will allow us to more effectively deploy resources, rapidly grow our presence outside the U. S. and continue to relentlessly innovate.”
Last summer, Freer said that he expected Hulu to create additional content after Disney took control of the online streaming service. To remain competitive, the service would need to do so, as the service, like Disney+, has multiple competitors, including NBC’s Peacock, WarnerMedia, HBO Max and others. At this time, Netflix remains the leader in the streaming wars, but whether Netflix remains ultimately victorious is yet to be seen. Only time will tell.
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Source: CNBC