Former Apple top executive Pete Distad has been tapped to serve as chief executive of a new sports streaming service from ESPN, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery.
Distad will oversee strategy, distribution and marketing for the new service, ESPN announced Friday.
His name first emerged as among the candidates on Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal reported at the time.
"This is an incredible opportunity to build and grow a differentiated product that will serve passionate sports fans in the US outside of the traditional pay TV bundle," Distad said in a statement posted by ESPN.
In February, the three rival media companies announced they'd join forces to make their sports offerings available to consumers in a new streaming service, the Journal noted Friday.
The service is expected to debut in the fall, carrying 14 networks — including Disney's ESPN channels and its ABC network, Warner's TNT and TBS, and Fox's broadcast network and sports cable channels, the Journal reported.
Featured sports will include the NFL, NBA, Major League Baseball, college football and basketball, golf and NASCAR.
The companies are mulling a price that could near $50 a month, according to the Journal.
The Journal also ticked off some expected challenges Distad will face, including scrutiny from regulators — and working with three different corporate owners, each with their own business strategies and problems.
At Apple, Distad was in charge of its video and sports businesses before leaving the tech company last spring; on his watch, Apple in 2022 struck a 10-year agreement with Major League Soccer
Distad was also part of the team that launched the streaming service Hulu, and served as its senior vice president of marketing and distribution.
Fran Beyer ✉
Fran Beyer is a writer with Newsmax and covers national politics.
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