Disney Hires Meta Exec to Lead Product Engineering Group For Entertainment and ESPN

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In preparation for the upcoming autumn launch of its main ESPN streaming service, Disney has recruited an executive from Meta to oversee a freshly formed product engineering team, which combines several existing groups.

Andre Rohe, previously holding the position of Vice President of Engineering at the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, recently joined Disney Entertainment & ESPN as their Chief Product/Tech Officer, according to Adam Smith, who made this announcement to his team in January.

Rohe has been brought onboard as Executive Vice President for Product Engineering, with Smith serving as his supervisor. This executive figure, who divides his time between San Francisco and Los Angeles, previously spent a total of sixteen years at YouTube and its parent company Google, holding various engineering positions for a period of six years at YouTube and eight years at Google.

Smith stated on Thursday that Andre possesses exceptional skills as a technologist, boasting a wealth of experience in overseeing top-tier engineering teams and delivering results in large-scale recommendation and product customization. Moreover, he emphasized that Andre is a highly collaborative individual.

Rohe remarked, “I’m thrilled to join forces with Adam again and to head such an accomplished group of engineers. It’s a profound privilege to contribute to shaping the way people worldwide interact with entertainment and sports in the future.

Disney is rapidly expanding its presence in the paid streaming market. Its main services, Disney+ and Hulu, have a combined subscriber base of 174 million, and ESPN+ boasts an additional 25 million subscribers on its own. Moreover, Disney stresses its extensive reach across various platforms through ad-supported monthly active users, totaling 157 million.

This year, I’m eagerly anticipating the debut of ESPN’s premier streaming service. It’s a significant step towards transitioning the brand completely from traditional TV to digital platforms. As Disney CFO Hugh Johnston mentioned at a UBS conference in December, the aim is to foster greater interaction and engagement from users like me.

Johnston announced that our upcoming ESPN flagship, slated for launch in early fall next year, will prioritize user interaction over traditional methods. This isn’t simply an upgraded version of our existing product; instead, it’s designed as a fully digital native product. This means you’ll be able to engage with ESPN’s betting feature, ESPN Bet, directly through the app.

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2025-01-30 22:27