UPDATED with YouTube affirmation. Justin Connolly, a veteran Disney and ESPN distribution government, has turn out to be YouTube’s international head of sports activities and media.
His bounce, confirmed to Deadline by an individual acquainted with the scenario, comes as YouTube continues to eat into conventional TV’s share of general viewing. YouTube TV, the tech large’s pay-TV service, has zoomed previous 8 million subscribers in eight years to turn out to be one of many largest suppliers within the U.S.
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Justin Connolly, a veteran Disney distribution government, has exited the corporate simply because it enters right into a consequential collection of negotiations.
After greater than twenty years at ESPN and Disney, Connolly departed on Friday, in keeping with an individual acquainted with the main points. He had simply final week taken half in ESPN’s high-profile media briefing in regards to the sports activities division’s forthcoming, eponymous streaming service. Disney CEO Bob Iger, ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro and a spread of different prime execs attended the New York occasion on the morning of the corporate’s upfront presentation to advertisers.
Sean Breen, EVP, Platform Distribution, and Jimmy Zasowski, EVP, Platform Distribution Technique, will function interim leaders of the Platform Distribution group, sources acquainted with the shuffle advised Deadline.
Puck sports activities media specialist John Ourand broke the information Friday, including that it wasn’t clear the place Connolly was headed however that business hypothesis centered on YouTube TV. He had re-upped with Disney earlier this yr, so it evidently wasn’t a case of events failing to finalize a contract.
YouTube TV didn’t instantly reply to Deadline’s request for remark. Disney declined to touch upon the exec transfer.
The long-anticipated ESPN streaming launch in late-summer forward of the beginning of the faculty soccer and NFL season will entail complicated talks with distributors. The events will likely be hashing out particular choices and pricing for and integration of the stand-alone service into their choices or granting entry to current subscribers, all whereas trying to safeguard ESPN’s legacy place within the pay-TV bundle. Along with spearheading these talks, Connolly was additionally anticipated to be closely concerned with upcoming carriage discussions with YouTube TV. The pay-TV supplier, now one of many largest within the U.S. with greater than 8 million subscribers, is going through the top of its present contract with Disney later this yr.
Within the summers of 2023 and 2024, Connolly performed a central function in negotiations between Disney and Constitution Communications and DirecTV, respectively. The 2023 Constitution settlement adopted a 10-day blackout on Spectrum pay-TV and broadband video packages. The watershed deal together with a lot of streaming advantages for Disney but in addition the lack of conventional carriage for Freeform and different cable networks.
Connolly had been President of Platform Distribution since 2019, reporting to Alan Bergman and Dana Walden, Co-Chairmen of Disney Leisure, and Jimmy Pitaro, Chairman of ESPN.. He oversaw all third-party media gross sales efforts for distribution, affiliate-related enterprise operations for all Disney direct-to-consumer providers and linear media networks, in addition to content material gross sales agreements.
In 2003, Connolly joined the corporate as Director, ESPN Technique and Operations, and held a lot of different posts over time, first at ESPN after which on the mum or dad firm.
