It looks as if Pete Distad, the former SVP of Marketing and Distribution at Hulu is settling into his new role as VP of Product Marketing at Apple. Distad’s LinkedIn page indicates he is indeed seated at Apple’s table. All indications are that Distad was hired in order to lead negotiations for Apple as they work to close content deals for their much rumored “television” project.
At Hulu, Distad was responsible for content distribution and customer acquisition/retention on the company’s management team. That includes “subscriber acquisition and retention, paid, on-channel, and brand marketing, distribution and promotional partnerships, and content marketing.”
In its July report, Bloomberg said that Apple and Time Warner planned to “announce an agreement within a few months” that would bring Time Warner TV shows to the Apple TV. The report claimed Distad was being hired to help with negotiations with cable and media companies.
While Apple has recently added Time Warner’s HBO GO, as well as WatchESPN to their Apple TV service, it has been reported that the company was running into roadblocks in negotiations with cable companies for its much-rumored and anticipated revamp of its Apple TV.
