• by Wayne Friedman , 4 hours ago

In an effort to revamp Walt Disney with Disney+ as its “digital centerpiece,” the company has named Adam Smith as chairman of direct-to-consumer for Disney Entertainment.

Smith takes over the crucial, high-profile Disney streaming businesses Disney+ and Hulu, overseeing all product, engineering, advertising technology, programming, viewer experience, partnerships, and data and analytics. 

He replaces Joe Earley, who was co-president, direct-to-consumer and head of content strategy at Disney. 

Earley will take over a newly created role as president, Disney Entertainment Television Franchises and Content Strategy, overseeing all content and production for international originals, production, labor relations and creative talent development.

This comes as new Disney chief executive officer, Josh D’Amaro has said that his plan was to make Disney+ the “digital centerpiece” of the company.

“Disney has the best storytellers and the most passionate fandom in the world,” said D’Amaro in a release, with regard to Smith’s appointment. “Our vision ahead is clear: Make Disney+ the connection point for fans everywhere to engage with the full breadth and depth of the broader Disney ecosystem.”

Smith had been co-president, direct-to-consumer and chief product & technology officer for Disney Entertainment and ESPN. Previously, he had been a senior executive at Google’s YouTube Premium and YouTube Music

Dana Walden, president/chief creative officer, The Walt Disney Company, said Smith was key in “building a world-class team of product and technology leaders and has significantly enhanced the Disney+ user experience globally.”