Apple TV+ has bolstered its streaming strategy by hiring former Disney executive Ricky Strauss as the service’s head of marketing.
As Deadline reported on Tuesday, Straus will lead consumer marketing campaigns, creative advertising, media and promotions for Apple TV+ original series and films. He will report to Apple VP of Marketing Communications Tor Myhren.
Strauss spent nine years at Disney, initially serving as president of marketing for Walt Disney Studios and eventually becoming president of programming for Hulu and Disney+, before exiting the company in 2021.
He was also Disney+’s first content and marketing president, according to LinkedIn, spearheading original programming development and content acquisition for the company’s various IP, such as Pixar, Marvel and “Star Wars” studio Lucasfilm.
Strauss left Disney in January 2021 to “pursue new creative endeavors,” as then reported by The Wrap. From that point, Joe Earley took on Strauss’ content curation duties, before becoming president at Hulu in January 2022.
Prior to Disney, Strauss spent seven years as president at Participant Media, a film production company that’s helped develop films such as the Academy Award-winning “The Help,” “The Kite Runner,” among others.
Strauss joins Apple TV+ as the service prepares to host Major League Soccer games, as part of a 10-year sports streaming deal. Games will be streamed via the Apple TV app on a new MLS streaming service, which will launch in February.
Apple TV+ has steadily gained a foothold in the SVOD market. Research firm Kantar found Apple TV+ gained a streaming market share of 10% in Q3 2022. Around that time, the service raised its subscription price for the first time – from $5 to $7 per month.
Additionally, Apple TV+ in 2021 and 2022 came in eighth place in Parks Associates’ ranking of most-subscribed to SVOD services in the U.S. Notably, it’s one of the only major subscription-based streaming services without an ad-supported option.
As for original content, Apple TV+ leans heavily into pre-existing IP for new shows and movies, Ampere Analysis recently uncovered. Apple original film “CODA” made history last year by winning an Academy Award for Best Picture – a first for a film distributed by a streaming service.