Luke Bradley-Jones, who heads Disney‘s streaming business, will reportedly leave the company this summer to join UK-based publication The Economist as president.
Luke Bradley-Jones was most recently Senior Vice President and General Manager of Disney+ in EMEA.
He has been overseeing the roll-out and operations of Disney+ across EMEA since January 2020, reporting into Disney’s EMEA boss Jan Koeppen.
Bradley-Jones joined Disney following an eight-year stint at Sky, rising to become chief marketing officer. Before that, he spent five years at BBC Studios as MD of BBC.com and its global iPlayer service.
BRADLEY-JONES’ EXIT FOLLOWS DEEP CUTS AT DISNEY
His exit follows deep cuts at Disney, which has seen the US studio trimming both staff and content as it seeks to improve profits from its streaming operations.
Earlier this month, Disney+ pulled more than 120 titles across both series and movies from its service in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, following an initial cull last year when shows such as The World According To Jeff Goldblum, Dollface and Willow were among titles to go.
Others, such as Nautilus and The Spiderwick Chronicles, never reached Disney+ as the streamer dropped them from the slate in its bid to cut costs.
Koeppen said: “There’s a great team in place which will ensure the future success of Disney+ and it is a privilege to be on that journey together. And, while it’s hard to lose such a highly valued team member, he’s going to a great job at The Economist, a company that he’s incredibly passionate about.”
Bradley-Jones added: “It’s been a privilege to lead the incredible launch and growth of Disney+ across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and I know the business will continue to flourish under Jan’s stewardship and the brilliant DTC teams across the region.”
