 |
Randy Freer | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1959/1960(age 61–62) [1] |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Saint Joseph's College of Maine |
| Occupation | Television executive |
| Title | Former CEO, Hulu |
| Term | 2017–2020 |
Randy Freer (born 1959/1960) is an American television executive, and the former chief executive officer (CEO) of Hulu. [2]
Freer attended Saint Joseph's College of Maine in Standish, Maine and graduated with degrees in business and history in 1982. [3]
Freer joined FSN in 1997 after serving for three years as senior vice president, business affairs at Active Entertainment, an animation syndication firm. Prior to that, Freer spent nine years at Turner Broadcasting, the last two as executive vice president, entertainment sales. In that position, Freer was responsible for overseeing all advertising sales for Turner Broadcasting System (TBS) and Turner Network Television (TNT), as well as the Cartoon Network.
Previously in his career at Fox, Freer served as co-president and COO, FOX Sports Media Group, where he focused on growing and enhancing Fox Sports' portfolio of league, conference, and team media rights. [3] In recent years, he oversaw the negotiations that led to new long-term agreements with the National Football League, Major League Baseball, NASCAR, and the USGA, as well as with the Pac-12, Big 12, and Big East Conferences. Freer also played a significant role in Fox's acquisitions of the World Cup and the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Freer's efforts to bolster FOX Sports’ complement of media rights helped lay the foundation for FOX Sports 1, the company's new national sports television network, which launched in August 2013. [4]
Prior to joining Hulu, Freer was president and CEO of Fox Networks Group, a position to which he was named in October 2013. [5] In this role, Freer directly oversaw revenue, distribution, and operations for Fox Networks Group, including FOX Broadcasting Company, FOX Sports, FX Networks, Fox International Channels, and National Geographic Channels. He was also responsible for rights acquisitions, and team and league relationships on behalf of FOX Sports. Freer reported to Peter Rice, chairman and CEO, Fox Networks Group. [4]
Freer was the CEO of Hulu from October 2017 to January 2020 and reported to Kevin Mayer, chairman of Walt Disney Direct-to-Consumer & International. [6] Freer stepped down from his position as CEO after corporate restructuring intended to further integrate Hulu into Disney's direct-to-consumer & international division. [7] Hulu's executives will now report directly to Mayer.
Both Business Week and Sports Business Journal have named Freer one of the most influential people in the business of sports on multiple occasions. [8] [9] CableFax Magazine has also named Freer the number-one most powerful executive in local sports television for three consecutive years (2008-2010). [10]
In December 2013, Sports Business Daily named Freer and Eric Shanks the number one most influential people in sports business. [11] "Under the direction of Freer and Shanks, Fox Sports dictated, shaped and in some cases inflated the sports media marketplace in recent years, gobbling up rights in a buildup to the August launches of Fox Sports 1 and Fox Sports 2." [11]
In April 2019, Freer was named one of Business Insider's 100 People Transforming Business. [12]
Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. is an American television and media conglomerate. Founded by Ted Turner and based in Atlanta, Georgia, it merged with Time Warner on October 10, 1996. As of April 2022, its assets are now owned by Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). The headquarters of Turner's properties are largely located at the CNN Center in Downtown Atlanta, and the Turner Broadcasting campus off Techwood Drive in Midtown Atlanta, which also houses Turner Studios. Some of their operations are housed within WBD's corporate headquarters at 30 Hudson Yards in New York City.
FX is an American pay television channel owned by FX Networks, LLC, a subsidiary of the Disney General Entertainment Content unit of The Walt Disney Company. It is based at the Fox Studios lot in Century City, California. FX originally launched on June 1, 1994. The network's original programming aspires to the standards of premium cable channels in regard to mature themes and content, high-quality writing, directing and acting. Sister channels FXM and FXX were launched in 1994 and 2013, respectively. FX also carries reruns of theatrical films and terrestrial-network sitcoms. Advertising-free content was available through the FX+ premium subscription service until it was shut down on August 21, 2019.
Hulu is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast’s NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. Launched on October 29, 2007, it offers a library of films and television series from networks such as ABC, NBC, or FX Networks, as well as Hulu original programming.
Walt Disney Television is an American entertainment company that oversees television content and assets owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company. Forming the company's General Entertainment division, it was formerly called Disney–ABC Television Group, ABC Group before that, and Capital Cities/ABC initially, until Disney's acquisition of 21st Century Fox on March 20, 2019. Assets in the group include television networks: ABC, ABC News, Disney Channels, FX Networks, and Freeform; Disney Television Studios: ABC Signature, 20th Television and 20th Television Animation; and Hulu Originals.
FX Networks, LLC, also referred to as FX Productions, is a company consisting of a network of cable channels plus a production company and a subsidiary of the Disney General Entertainment Content segment of The Walt Disney Company. Originally a part of 21st Century Fox, the company was acquired by The Walt Disney Company on March 20, 2019. Consequently, FX Networks was integrated into the newly renamed Walt Disney Television unit.
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Randel A. Falco is an American media executive. Falco was president and CEO of Univision Communications Inc. from June 2011 until retiring in June 2018. Before joining Univision in January 2011 as Executive Vice President and COO, he served as Chairman of the Board and CEO of AOL from November 2006 to March 2009. Prior to his tenure at AOL, he spent 31 years at NBC, including serving as the network's president and COO.
TelevisaUnivision is a Mexican-American media company headquartered in Miami and Mexico City, which owns the American Spanish language broadcast network Univision. 45% of the company is held by the Mexican media conglomerate Televisa, a major programming partner for Univision.
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Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution (DMED), formerly Walt Disney Direct-to-Consumer & International (DTCI), is one of The Walt Disney Company's five major business segments consisting of Disney's streaming services and overseas media businesses, formed in March 2018. As part of the segment's formation, Disney Streaming Services was placed under Direct-to-Consumer & International.
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Peter Rice is a British businessman and the Chairman of Disney General Entertainment Content for The Walt Disney Company.
Disney Star Private Limited is an Indian media conglomerate and a wholly owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company India. It is headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It has a network of 60 channels in eight languages, reaching out to 9 out of 10 cable and satellite TV homes in India. The network reaches approximately 790 million viewers a month across India and more than 100 countries. Disney Star generates more than 30,000 hours of content every year. Disney Star is the largest television and entertainment network in India.
Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc., doing business as 21st Century Fox (21CF), was an American multinational mass media corporation that was based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It was one of the two companies formed on June 28, 2013, following a spin-off of the publishing assets of the old News Corporation, as founded by Rupert Murdoch in 1980.
Dana Walden is an American businesswoman and the Chairman of Entertainment, Walt Disney Television.
ESPN+ is an American over-the-top subscription video streaming service available in the United States, owned by Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution, in partnership with ESPN Inc., which is a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company and the Hearst Communications. It is one of Disney's three flagship subscription streaming brands in the United States, alongside Disney+ and Hulu, and operates using technology of Disney subsidiary BAMTech, now known as Disney Streaming Services.
The acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney was announced on December 14, 2017, and was completed on March 20, 2019. Among other key assets, the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney included the 20th Century Fox film and television studios, U.S. cable/satellite channels such as FX, Fox Networks Group, a 73% stake in National Geographic Partners, Indian television broadcaster Star India, and a 30% stake in Hulu. Immediately preceding the acquisition, 21st Century Fox spun off the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox Television Stations, Fox News Channel, Fox Business, Fox Sports 1 and 2, Fox Deportes, and the Big Ten Network as well as the 67%-owned Credible Labs into the newly formed Fox Corporation. Other 21st Century Fox assets such as the Fox Sports Networks were divested and sold off to Comcast, Sinclair Broadcast Group and Yankee Global Enterprises.
Fox Corporation is a publicly traded American mass media company operated and controlled by media mogul Rupert Murdoch and headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in New York City. Incorporated in Delaware, it was formed in 2019 as a result of the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by The Walt Disney Company; the assets that were not acquired by Disney were spun off from 21st Century Fox as the new Fox Corp., and its stock began trading on January 1, 2019. The company is owned by the Murdoch family via a family trust with 39.6% ownership share.
Disney General Entertainment Content is a business segment of The Walt Disney Company that oversaw the company's television networks, cable channels, television production and distribution studios, and owned-and-operated television stations. The segment's primary divisions are Walt Disney Television and A&E Networks.
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