Rebecca Campbell: Last News

Disney+ is getting a new president.

EXCLUSIVE: The layoffs impacting thousands of Disney staff in the U.S. have spread to Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

EXCLUSIVE: Mark Padilla has been appointed as President of Worldwide Sales and Acquisitions at Jack and Rebecca Campbell’s indie film sales and production company, Jackrabbit Media.

Disney Entertainment, the new division run by Dana Walden and Alan Bergman, will oversee the company’s main streaming services including Disney+ as details of the company strategic restructuring emerge.

Naman Ramachandran Streamer Disney+ Hotstar has revealed three Indian titles at the global Disney fan event D23 Expo. A new version of Indian epic “Mahabharata,” which maps the conflict between warring cousins, the Pandavas and the Kauravas, is being produced by Madhu Mantena, Mythoversestudios and Allu Entertainment. Indian media personality Karan Johar’s celebrity chat show “Koffee With Karan” returns for season 8. It is produced by Johar, Apoorva Mehta and Anisha Baig for Dharmatic Entertainment Production. Johar, Mehta and Somen Mishra are also producing Bollywood-set drama series “Showtime.”

Naman Ramachandran Sajith Sivanandan is joining Disney as executive VP and head of Disney+ Hotstar India, reporting into Rebecca Campbell, chair of Disney’s International content and operations group and K. Madhavan, president, Disney Star. Sivanandan will join in October from Google, where he is currently MD and business head, Google Pay and Next Billion User Initiatives, Asia Pacific.

Google’s Sajith Sivanandan has been named EVP and Head of Indian streaming service Disney+ Hotstar.

Disney has signed a former Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution and DMED exec to manage international content strategy across EMEA, LatAm, Asia Pacific and India.

Disney has unveiled Joe Earley as its President of Hulu and created an international content creation hub led by Chairman Rebecca Campbell, as it supports the ongoing expansion of its Walt Disney direct-to-consumer business globally.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorDisney reorganized its global direct-to-consumer streaming organization, including installing Joe Earley, formerly head of Disney Plus marketing and operations, as president of Hulu.As part of the reorg, Disney is creating a new hub for international content creation under the direction of Rebecca Campbell as chairman, International Content and Operations.Joe Earley, who previously served as EVP, marketing and operations for Disney Plus, has been named President of Hulu. He takes over for former Hulu president Kelly Campbell, who recently exited to join NBCUniversal’s Peacock.Campbell, in her newly expanded role, will focus on local and regional content production for Disney’s streaming services, as well as continue overseeing Disney’s international media teams worldwide, reporting directly to CEO Bob Chapek.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorAfter less than two years as Hulu’s president, Kelly Campbell has left the Disney-owned streaming service.Campbell’s departure was announced to staff by Rebecca Campbell, Disney’s chairman of international operations and direct-to-consumer. Kelly Campbell’s direct reports at Hulu will report to Rebecca Campbell (the two are not related) until a replacement is named for the position.Kelly Campbell joined Hulu in 2017 as chief marketing officer, and in February 2020 she was promoted to president, coming after Randy Freer’s exit as CEO of Hulu.Before Hulu, she spent 12 years at Google, working in various leadership and marketing roles in Google Ads and Google Cloud.

Disney veteran Ricky Strauss, one of the key executives that launched Disney+ and former head of marketing for Walt Disney Studios, is leaving the company after nine years.

Elaine Low Senior TV WriterRicky Strauss, who led Disney Plus’ content curation and marketing efforts, is departing the Walt Disney Company at the end of the month after nine years with the company. Joe Earley will add content curation of streaming service Disney Plus to his responsibilities, per an internal memo from Disney’s chairman of international operations and direct-to-consumer Rebecca Campbell.Calling Strauss “an incredibly creative, dedicated leader” and noting his contributions to Disney Plus, Campbell said that “the recent company reorganization led to a significant change in Ricky’s role.

Disney Appoints APAC Chief Disney has named Luke Kang as President, Asia Pacific, following the departure of Uday Shankar, which was announced in October and becomes effective from December 31. Kang will not, however, be taking on Shankar’s responsibilities in India, with a separate appointment set to be made for the territory by Rebecca Campbell, Chairman, International Operations and Direct-to-Consumer for Disney. Kang will oversee the studio’s business in Australia/New Zealand, Greater China, Japan, Korea and Southeast Asia.

Disney has revealed more details of its international launch of general entertainment streaming service Star.

Jake Kanter International TV EditorDisney APAC Boss Uday Shankar Quits Uday Shankar, president of The Walt Disney Company Asia Pacific and chairman, Star & Disney India, is to step down at the end of 2020 after less than two years in the role. Shankar said he intends to pursue new entrepreneurial opportunities to “give back to the country.” Before stepping down, he will work with Rebecca Campbell, chair of Disney’s direct-to-consumer and international segment, to identify a successor.

Naman Ramachandran Uday Shankar will step down as president, The Walt Disney Company Asia Pacific and chairman, Star & Disney India, effective Dec. 31, 2020.

Dade Hayes Finance EditorDisney+ continued its global expansion, adding Portugal, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Belgium and Luxembourg to its roster of countries.Pricing ranges from $7.63 a month in Norway to $9.42 in Denmark. Portugal, Belgium, Finland, Iceland and Luxembourg are all at €6.99, or $8.30.“As a major force in the global direct-to-consumer space we’re bringing high-quality, optimistic storytelling that you expect from our brands to even more people,” said Rebecca Campbell, chair of Walt Disney Direct-to-Consumer and International.The streaming race is increasingly a global one.

Naman Ramachandran Mouse House streaming service Disney Plus has launched in Portugal, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Belgium and Luxembourg.“We have surpassed 60.5 million paid subscribers globally, and today we continue our international expansion with the launch of Disney+ in eight countries.

With The Walt Disney Co. naming Rebecca Campbell to succeed newly named TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer as chair of its direct-to-consumer and international business unit, Wall Street analysts on Tuesday chimed in on what his departure and her rise to the key role mean for the Hollywood powerhouse.

By Dade Hayes