• by Wayne Friedman , March 15, 2024

Former Apple executive Peter Distad has been named CEO of the new proposed mega-sports streaming joint venture that Walt Disney’s ESPN, Fox Corp. and Warner Bros. Discovery recently announced.

Distad had a ten-year stint at Apple from 2013-2023, where he was responsible for business, operations and global distribution for video, sports and Apple TV+. He also oversaw the MLS Season Pass. 

Distad will report to the joint-venture streamer's board of directors, which will include representatives selected by each of the three companies.

Prior to that, he worked at Walt Disney-Comcast Corp.’s Hulu from 2007 through 2013 as senior vice president of marketing and distribution.

The venture, which some analysts have been calling “Spulu” -- a riff on the Hulu business name -- was announced last month. The  business will combine content from  linear TV sports networks and some direct-to-consumer (D2C) sports services -- to form a streaming pay service.

It is scheduled to launch in the fall of 2024.

Analysts estimate the consumer price of the service to be around $40 to $50 a month. Subscribers would also have the ability to bundle the product, including with Disney+, Hulu and/or Max.

Recently, Lachlan Murdoch, CEO at Fox Corp. estimated the service to have 5 million subscribers in its first five years of operation.