In recent news, Tony Billetter has made a move from Apple to Venu Sports, where he has taken on a similar role to his previous position at Apple as head of worldwide business strategy and planning for video and sports. This new venture is a joint effort between Disney, Fox Corp., and Warner Bros. Discovery, and sees Billetter reuniting with Pete Distad, the CEO of Venu, who previously led Apple TV+’s business, operations, and global distribution.
Prior to joining Apple in December 2017, Billetter had been employed at Disney for over 10 years in various positions including director of strategic planning for Walt Disney Studios. He holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from San Francisco State University and an MBA from UCLA Anderson School of Management. Another notable addition to the Venu Sports team is Jessica Casano-Antonellis, who was previously the SVP and head of communications at SiriusXM and the former head of PR for Disney’s streaming group.
The three parent companies have set fall 2024 as their target launch date for their streaming-sports bundle. The service will include ESPN+ as well as their linear TV networks that broadcast sports programming such as ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, Fox TNT etc. However pricing details have not yet been disclosed. It is important to note that the launch of this service is contingent on regulatory approval and finalizing agreements between the parties involved. Once approved it will be accessible through a new app, with subscribers having the option to bundle it together with other services such as Disney+ or Hulu or Max .
