Distad, a senior director at Apple, reports to Oliver Schusser, whose boss is services chief Eddy Cue. Before his latest job, Distad was a company vice president in charge of marketing for the Apple TV set-top box.
Apple will be elevating sports content executive Jim DeLorenzo to replace Distad on the sports side, and it’s now seeking a replacement for the TV business duties. The content arm of Apple TV+ is run by worldwide video heads Jamie Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg. They remain in their roles, reporting to Cue.
Services have quickly become a core part of Apple’s overall business, and the company cited it as a bright spot during its quarterly report last week. The segment climbed 5.5% in the period, generating nearly $21 billion, while other areas — like the Mac and iPad—suffered declines.
Apple has boosted services revenue in part by selling bundles of different offerings at a reduced price. It’s also offered promotions for new device buyers and users of certain wireless carriers, and the company has been pushing sign-ups of services via notifications to iPhone and iPad users.
Distad has been responsible for striking streaming distribution deals and for getting customers to pay Apple to view content. Though Apple TV+ isn’t seen as a major moneymaker, it has elevated the company’s image in the media world. Apple won a best picture Oscar last year for the TV+ movie CODA, and its show “Ted Lasso” is a streaming hit.
Still, the platform trails Netflix, Max, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video and Paramount+ in market share, and it’s unclear if Apple wants to spend the kind of eye-popping figures on content that its peers have to win viewers.
—Bloomberg News
