Disney has upped Hulu chief marketing officer Kelly Campbell to the position of the president to run the streaming service.
Campbell, who’s a former Google veteran, will lead Hulu’s on demand and live streaming businesses as the company is going to further integrate into parent Disney’s direct-to-consumer group.
“This is a time of tremendous growth and transformation for Hulu, and I am incredibly energised by the opportunity ahead as we enter into this next chapter. The Hulu team is among the brightest, most technologically and creatively audacious in the industry, and I know we are going to do great things as part of the pioneering and equally bold team Kevin has built at DTCI,” said Campbell.
Her promotion announcement comes after Hulu CEO Randy Freer stepped down in January after a little more than two years in the post. In her new role, Campbell will work with Disney’s film and TV studios on original programming for Hulu. She will report to Disney direct-to-consumer and international chairman Kevin Mayer.
Commented Mayer in a statement, “Campbell is an immensely talented leader who has been a driving force in defining Hulu’s brand vision and strategy. She has built a tremendous multi-talented team and developed strategic campaigns that helped double Hulu’s subscriber base. Our senior leadership team is excited to welcome her on board and can’t wait to work together to further grow Hulu’s footprint in the US and beyond.”
Prior to joining Hulu in 2017, Campbell looked after growth marketing for the search giant streamer’s cloud division. For the last three years, the marketing veteran supervised subscriber growth, brand, content and business-to-business marketing, research and viewer experience for the streamer and was key to its substantial growth. In early February, Disney CEO Bob Iger revealed that Hulu has 30.7 million U.S. subscribers.
Disney acquired full operational control of Hulu in spring 2019, though its focus was on the launch of Disney+ in November 2019. The oversight of Hulu was taken under Disney TV Studios chairman Dana Walden. Now, Hulu is being integrated more deeply within the Disney direct-to-consumer group, which also houses Disney Streaming Services and oversees the operations of ESPN+.
With its established subscriber base in the U.S., Hulu is key to Disney’s three-pronged streaming strategy. The streamer will serve as the main home for adult programming from Disney brands and will soon launch the FX on Hulu banner where it streaming library content and originals from the cable network.
