Former Fox Executive and Hulu President Joe Earley becomes the new President of Direct-To-Consumer for Disney Entertainment, as Michael Paull leaves the company after six years of service.
(Photo : Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for The Hollywood Reporter)
BEVERLY HILLS, CA - SEPTEMBER 28: Joe Earley attends The Hollywood Reporter's 2016 Entertainment Business Managers Breakfast at CUT on September 28, 2016 in Beverly Hills, California.
Shaking-Up Leadership Ranks
Disney is appointing Hulu president Joe Earley as the new President of the Direct-To-Consumer of the company. According to Bloomberg's report, he will report to Disney's Entertainment Division co-chairmen Dana Walden and Alan Bargman.
Earley joined Disney four years ago to oversee marketing for the launch of the Disney+ subscription service in November 2019, in which he added content curation duties as the streaming service expanded worldwide.
After this, he was elevated by the company to a presidential position for Hulu in 2022. As he takes on this new venture, the company looks for a new full-time manager. He will continue to run this service until a new replacement is appointed.
Bergman and Walden stated Earley has already proven himself to be an asset and is uniquely positioned for this role as both of them are building the company's streaming strategy into the future.
With his vast industry experience and deep knowledge based on his portfolio of brands, he will be a good executive in his team. "Joe is a talented, passionate leader, committed to creative excellence, and we look forward to partnering with him in this next chapter," the chairmen added.
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As per The Hollywood Reporter, Earley takes to fill the void created by his successor, Michael Paull, after six years of service. He served in this role since January 2022 after joining the Mouse House in late 2017.
Paull's exit comes after Disney eliminates an estimated 7,000 jobs as Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger looks to right-size the company by restructuring the executives as part of the larger plan to create $5.5 billion in cost savings. These layoffs already affected several employees from TV production and acquisitions units, ABC News, and other divisions.
Earley's Response
The newly appointed President of the Direct-To-Consumer accepted the role as he sees this as a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Earley described his learnings by being a Hulu president as inspiring and rewarding.
"I'm incredibly grateful to Dana and Alan for their confidence and the opportunity to lead both of these incredible teams during this time of transformation across the streaming landscape," Earley said in a statement.
Before joining Disney, Variety reported that Earley previously spent more than two decades as Fox Television Group's Chief Operating Officer. In this role, he oversaw marketing, digital, research, scheduling, audience strategy, and more that included the Fox Broadcast Network.
He also became segued to the president of an indie studio, The Jackal Group after leaving Fox along with former Fox Executive Gail Berman.
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