Disney is switching up its streaming leadership team, which currently consists of co-presidents of direct-to-consumer Adam Smith and Joe Earley. Smith has been named chairman of direct-to-consumer for Disney Entertainment, while Earley is shifting into the newly created role of president of Disney Entertainment Television franchise and content strategy. Smith and Earley will report to Disney president and chief creative officer Dana Walden, who announced the news Thursday.
The shake-up comes at a time when Disney is focused on making Disney+ a main focal point for the company. The goal internally is to a structure that creates a single, dedicated leader for the direct-to-consumer business as it continues to scale. Additional details about the leadership changes will be announced at a later date.
As chairman, Smith will be responsible for the company’s global entertainment SVOD business, driving strategy, development and continued innovation across the company’s streaming platforms, proprietary advertising technology, emerging technologies and more, per Disney, In his expanded role, Disney says Smith will oversee Disney+ and Hulu, including product, engineering, advertising technology, programming strategy, viewer experience, partnerships and data & analytics. In his new role, Earley will lead the strategic development of Disney Entertainment Television franchises, maximizing their value and creating new opportunities to engage audiences and drive the business forward. Earley will oversee all content and production for international originals, production, labor relations and creative talent development.
After more than 20 years working at Google and YouTube, Smith joined Disney in 2024 as chief product and technology officer for Disney Entertainment and ESPN. He was promoted to co-president of direct-to-consumer alongside Earley back in March. I’m grateful for this team, energized by what’s ahead, and excited for our next chapter.” Most recently co-president of direct-to-consumer and head of content strategy, Earley joined Disney in 2019 to oversee global Disney+ marketing and operations ahead of its launch.
He was then named president of Hulu in 2022 and became the head of Disney’s direct-to-consumer division in April 2023. Previously, Earley worked at Fox.
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