Adam Smith To Lead Disney’s Direct-to-Consumer As Chairman, Joe Earley Becomes President Of Television Franchise & Content Strategy

Disney‘s President and Chief Creative Officer Dana Walden is streamlining the leadership of the company’s direct-to-consumer operation. Six months after she announced Adam Smith and Joe Earley as Co-Presidents of Direct-to-Consumer, both reporting to her, Smith has been named sole leader as Chairman, Direct-to-Consumer, Disney Entertainment. Earley is moving to Disney Entertainment Television chairman Debra OConnell’s group to take on the role of President, Disney Entertainment Television Franchise and Content Strategy.

The DTC leadership change comes as new Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro and CFO Hugh Johnston several months ago launched an initiative to streamline operations and improve productivity and efficiency across the company and amid swirling speculation about a pending major reorganization of O’Connell’s division. D’Amaro and Johnston also signaled upcoming layoffs, with the ongoing voluntary early retirement program considered a precursor to that.

As chairman, Smith, most recently Co-President, Direct-to-Consumer and Chief Product & Technology Officer for Disney Entertainment and ESPN, will be responsible for the company’s global entertainment SVOD business. In his expanded role, he will oversee Disney+ and Hulu including product, engineering, advertising technology, programming strategy, viewer experience, partnerships, and data & analytics.

“Over the past two years, Adam has done an exceptional job building a world-class team of product and technology leaders and has significantly enhanced the Disney+ user experience globally,” said Walden, who shares oversight of Direct-to-Consumer with Alan Bergman, Disney’s film chief and one of her direct reports. “Alan Bergman and I are pleased to recognize the tremendous impact he has had on our direct-to-consumer business since he joined Disney, and we are confident that he is the right leader to meet the critical moment we’re in and take us to the next level.”

Disney, like its traditional media peers, has been managing through a complicated and expensive transition from programming linear TV networks to operating direct-to-consumer streaming services. After several years of significant losses as Disney built its streaming operation, the division recorded a quarterly profit for the first time in mid-2024, nearly five years after the launch of Disney+.

In his new role, Earley, most recently Co-President, Direct-to-Consumer and head of content strategy, will lead the development of franchises across various divisions of Disney Entertainment Television, reporting to O’Connell. He will oversee all content and production for international originals, production, labor relations and creative talent development.

“Joe has been an exceptional leader for our direct-to-consumer business over the past four years, and I am deeply grateful for his partnership and meaningful contributions,” Walden said. “He is a talented executive with a rare combination of business acumen and creative instincts, and Debra OConnell and I could not be more excited to welcome him to the leadership team at Disney Entertainment Television.”

Smith joined Disney two years ago in the tech-focused role of Chief Product & Technology Officer, Disney Entertainment and ESPN. He came to the media giant after spending more than 20 years in various exec posts at Google and YouTube. Smith’s tech bona fides were seen as essential at a time when Bob Iger had recently returned as Disney CEO and the company was in the midst of a long-term integration of Hulu and ESPN programming onto Disney+.

With Josh D’Amaro now chief executive, Disney+ has become even more of a key focus, with the new boss speaking frequently about expanding its capabilities and weaving it together with the company’s experiences portfolio. Another key initiative Smith oversaw was the launch of ESPN’s fortified streaming service, which has generally been seen as a success a year after its launch.

One streaming misfire under his leadership was the first livestream of the Oscars on Hulu in 2025 crashing, an issue that was corrected for the 2026 telecast.

Earley joined Disney in 2019 to oversee global Disney+ marketing and operations in the lead-up to its launch, and was named President of Hulu in 2022, leading the platform’s suite of on-demand and live streaming businesses.

He has a longstanding relationship with Walden stemming from their two decades at the Fox Television Group, which spanned Fox Broadcasting Co and 20th Century Fox Television. At the Fox network, Earley held a variety of roles across content, communications, marketing and operations, rising to Chief Operating Officer.