According to reports, Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery are looking at who could lead their new sports streaming platform and Pete Distad is a top candidate. A former Apple executive who left the company last year, Distad also has experience as a marketing and distribution executive for Hulu.
At Apple, Distad was responsible for deals with both Major League Soccer and Major League Baseball. The company was a frontrunner to land the rights to NFL Sunday Ticket before backing out, clearing the way for Google and YouTube.
In early February it was announced ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery had reached an understanding on principal terms to form a new Joint Venture to build an innovative new platform to house a compelling streaming sports service.
The platform would bring together the companies’ portfolios of sports networks, certain direct-to-consumer sports services and sports rights – including content from all the major professional sports leagues and college sports. The formation of the pay service is subject to the negotiation of definitive agreements amongst the parties. The offering, scheduled to launch in the fall of 2024, would be made available directly to consumers via a new app. Subscribers would also have the ability to bundle the product, including with Disney+, Hulu and/or Max.
