Apple’s top exec in charge of its video and sports businesses is departing

Peter Distad, Apple’s top exec in charge of its video and sports businesses is departing, reports Bloomberg.

Quoting unnamed “people familiar with the matter,” the article says he plans to leave Apple this month. His departure follows that of Peter Stern, Apple’s former vice president of Services, who left the company last January.

Bloomberg says in his current role, Distad oversees the business and operations side of the Apple TV app and the TV+ streaming service, leading the company’s ambitious push into television shows, Hollywood movies and sporting events. His division negotiated deals with Major League Soccer and Major League Baseball and turned the Apple TV set-top box into a hub for video content — both from inside and outside the company.

Following Distad’s departure, Apple executive Jim DeLorenzo will take the lead of Apple’s sports business team. He’s been at the tech giant since June 2020.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Distad: …started as a software developer, later helped build early disruptors in the network engineering sector, and then became a marketing and business leader at the intersection of media and technology. Pete was part of the original launch team at Hulu (growing to over 1000) leading marketing and distribution, and currently with Apple he leads the video and sports business and operations teams. He originally joined Apple to lead the Apple TV (hardware) product marketing team. Pete is passionate about technology, building strong teams, and growing large scale direct-to consumer businesses.