Former Hulu executive Kelly Campbell named Peacock president
Just two days after leaving Hulu, Kelly Campbell has been named president of rival streaming service Peacock.
In her new role, Campbell will work with NBCUniversal leaders in TV, film, news and sports on live and original programming for Peacock. She starts in November and will be based in the L.A. area.
“On the heels of Peacock’s success in its first year, we are thrilled to bring Kelly’s leadership and expertise to the team as we continue to accelerate Peacock’s vision and strategy,” Matt Strauss, chairman of direct-to-consumer and international at NBCUniversal, said in a statement.
Peacock launched in July 2020, entering an increasingly crowded market of streaming services. It offers a free option with access to thousands of hours of video-on-demand programming and news channels. It also offers two premium plans, one at $4.99 a month that gives access to additional programming, such as full seasons of Peacock original shows, and a $9.99-a-month option for ad-free viewing.
The streaming service, which was already available to Comcast customers, could struggle without Roku and Amazon partnerships. But Peacock’s strategy is different.
“We view it as a coup for Peacock to get her,” said Daniel Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities. “Peacock has a lot of momentum, and we believe Kelly is the perfect fit to take this streaming platform in its next stage of growth. This hire is a win for 30 Rock.”
Peacock has had more than 54 million sign-ups and 20 million monthly active accounts.
Ives estimates the streamer could hit 100 million subscribers by mid-2022.
As the streaming wars heat up, there has been a lot of movement of executives, including some that have been recruited to rival services.
Hulu’s president, Kelly Campbell, has left the company after her promotion to the role in February 2020.
Campbell was president at Hulu for less than two years and previously was the company’s chief marketing officer.
Her departure follows growing dissatisfaction among Hulu’s workforce since Disney’s takeover of Fox’s stake in the streamer, which gives the Burbank entertainment giant operational control, said two people familiar with the service who were not authorized to comment.
For years, Hulu’s pay and benefits were aligned with those offered by technology firms, because the streamer competed for talent with such companies as Google and Facebook. Until Disney’s takeover, Hulu employees got to participate in a bonus and incentive program. Disney changed the compensation structure so that many midlevel and junior executives saw their pay packages cut, sources said.
A Disney representative declined to comment.
Times staff writer Meg James contributed to this report.
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