Neither Charlie Collier, who led Roku’s advertising and platform businesses for four years, nor Tubi CEO Anjali Sud will join Fox Corp. after the acquisition of Roku.
The executive departures were part of several organizational updates shared with employees by Anthony Wood and Paul Cheesebrough, co-presidents of Fox Digital Platforms. After Fox’s $22 billion acquisition of Wood-founded Roku closed Friday morning, the digital division was created to house Roku, Tubi, Red Seat Ventures and other properties.
Sud, who presided over Tubi’s rise in the free, ad-supported streaming space, is taking on a new role outside the company, the memo said. She will stay on in the meantime to help with the transition to Pete Distad, the former Apple executive who led the launch of flagship streamer Fox One and will now add Tubi as well as Roku subsidiary Frndly TV’s paid plan to his portfolio.
“She and her team helped grow Tubi from a challenger brand to a force in free streaming,” Wood and Cheesbrough wrote of Sud. “We would like to thank her for her extraordinary contributions and wish her every success in her next endeavor.”
Collier became president of Roku Media in 2022 after serving as CEO of Fox Entertainment. He previously oversaw the AMC cable network.
Mustafa Ozgen will succeed Wood as CEO of Roku. The streaming provider’s open platform, which Wood and Cheesbrough say is “central to its success with viewers and content partners,” will remain intact.
Ozgen will continue to lead Roku’s devices, products and technology organization. Additionally, he will now also oversee the Fox AdRise ad technology platform, Roku Channel, streaming service partnerships, Roku subscriptions, Howdy subscription service, Roku Pay as well as the Roku brand and creative operations.
Chris Handman, executive vice president and general counsel of Roku, and Robyn Peterson, executive vice president of AdRise, are also leaving Collier and South.
Other new appointments include Mike Bidgoli, who has been promoted to president of Tubi, reporting to Distad; Andy Karofsky, co-founder and CEO of Frndly TV, who will join the Distad Group; and Lisa Holme, chief content officer of The Roku Channel. Holme will report to Distad and work closely with Adam Lewinson and the Tubi content team.
Advertising sales teams across the portfolio will continue to report to Jeff Collins, president of advertising sales at Fox. The formidable scale of the combined advertising operation became apparent Monday when the two companies reported results for the July-September quarter. Fox’s ad revenue jumped 47% year over year to $2.1 billion, while Roku’s ad revenue climbed 23% to $727.4 million.
“We will not have all the answers on day one,” Wood and Cheesbrough conceded in the memo. “We will share decisions as they are made, be clear about what is still open, and continue to move forward. Our priorities remain the same: creating great products, serving our viewers and partners, and supporting each other.”
The memo says town hall meetings are planned in San Jose and San Francisco on Monday; the Fox and Santa Monica lot on Tuesday; Austin on Wednesday and New York on Thursday. International town hall meetings will follow, the company said.
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