Tony Billeter, who previously served as head of worldwide business strategy and planning for Apple’s video and sports divisions, has taken a similar role at Venu Sports, a recent joint venture between Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery.
The move will see Billeter reunite with Venu CEO Pete Distad, who previously oversaw Apple TV+ business, operations and global distribution and spent 10 years at the tech giant.
Bileter joined Los Angeles-based Venu last month after working at Apple since December 2017, according to his LinkedIn profile. A Venu Sports representative confirmed Bileter’s hiring. Prior to Apple, Bileter worked at Disney for more than 10 years, including as director of strategic planning for Walt Disney Studios. Bileter holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from San Francisco State University and an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management.
Disney, Fox and WBD announced last week that the joint venture will be called Venu Sports. Another key new hire for the three-way joint venture is Jessica Cassano Antonellis, who most recently served as SVP and head of communications for SiriusXM and was previously head of communications for Disney’s streaming group.
The three Venu Sports parent companies, which announced the joint venture in February, are targeting a fall 2024 launch for the streaming sports bundle. The service would combine ESPN+ with their linear TV networks that carry sports programming (ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SECN, ACCN, ESPNews, Fox, FS1, FS2, Big Ten Network, TNT, TBS and truTV). Pricing and a specific launch date have not been announced.
Venu (pronounced “venue”) said the launch of the streaming bundle is subject to regulatory approvals and “the execution of definitive agreements between the parties.” The joint venture is operated by Rookie Enterprises LLC, a subsidiary of Fox Corp.
Once those hurdles are cleared, Venu will be available directly to consumers through a new app, the companies said, and subscribers will also be able to purchase it as a bundle with Disney+, Hulu, Max and more.
