Variety: Fox Hires Peter Distad, Previously Head of Ill-Fated Venu Sports, as CEO of Direct-to-Consumer Streaming Service

Story from Variety:

Pete Distad has a new gig after the shutdown of sports-streaming joint venture Venu Sports.

Fox Corp. has hired Distad as CEO of the company’s recently announced direct-to-consumer streaming division. Distad most recently headed Venu Sports, which Fox, Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery shuttered in January. Before Venu, he served as an executive at Apple for a decade following six years at Hulu.

Distad will report to Paul Cheesbrough, CEO of Fox’s Tubi Media Group, and will assume oversight of all aspects of the upcoming platform.

As Fox execs announced on its recent earnings call, the company expects the yet-unnamed direct-to-consumer subscription streaming product by the end of 2025. The DTC play is aimed at extending the reach of Fox News, Fox Sports and the Fox broadcast network outside of the traditional cable TV bundle. No details about price, launch date or content lineup have been announced.

Cheesbrough said in announcing Distad’s hire, “Pete is a proven leader with deep experience in consumer products, and we’re thrilled to have him join the team to lead this new platform. His track record of innovation, execution and building world-class streaming products speaks for itself, and we’re confident that under his leadership, we will deliver a best-in-class service that showcases Fox’s premium content and brands.”

Distad, in a statement provided by Fox, said, “I’m excited to bring Fox’s leading sports, news and entertainment content to audiences outside the traditional pay-TV bundle for the first time via an all-new streaming platform. Working closely with our content, distribution and platform partners, we’re going to build and grow a differentiated viewing experience for consumers to access their favorite Fox programming.”

The JV that became Venu Sports was announced in February 2024 by Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery. The original idea was to serve a lower-priced, sports-centric streaming package to cater to American consumers who don’t subscribe to traditional pay-TV. But less than a year later, the three companies scrapped the venture, citing a need to “meet the evolving demands of sports fans by focusing on existing products and distribution channels.”

Prior to joining Venu, Distad worked at Apple from 2013-23, where he was responsible for the business, operations and global distribution for Apple TV+. He originally joined Apple to lead product marketing for the Apple TV hardware product. Before Apple, he was part of the Hulu original launch team and worked at the streamer from 2007-13, most recently serving as senior VP of marketing and distribution.