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Disney, which took 70% power of streaming pay-TV supplier Fubo past October, has installed 1 of its ain execs, Alisa Bowen, to tally nan business.
David Gandler, who co-founded nan institution successful 2015 and ran it arsenic CEO, has been replaced by Alisa Bowen. A 10-year Disney veteran, Bowen had astir precocious been president of Disney+.
The takeover of Fubo resulted from a colony of an antitrust suit revenge by Fubo successful 2025 erstwhile Disney attempted to motorboat sports streaming task Venu pinch Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery. With his pugnacious, buccaneering guidance style, Gandler was not emblematic casting for a Disney executive, however. Since launching Fubo, he would often obstruction against rivals for illustration YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV, saying they could spend to run their businesses acold otherwise than Fubo.
The abrupt quality of nan move – Bowen officially starts successful her caller domiciled connected Friday, and Gandler is besides leaving nan committee of board – suggests a grade of clash betwixt nan parties.
“The Disney civilization didn’t match,” 1 manufacture root told Deadline. “David was disappointment pinch what seemed to beryllium Disney’s almost volition to not turn nan vMVPD business.”
Combined, Fubo and Hulu + Live TV entered 2026 pinch 6.2 cardinal subscribers, though they still way good down YouTube TV among streaming packagers of unrecorded TV. With much than 10 cardinal subscribers and cablegram rivals Comcast and Charter fading, YouTube TV is poised to go nan No. 1 usability successful nan coming quarters.
Under nan position of nan colony and acquisition of nan stake, Fubo has continued operating arsenic a separate, stand-alone company. It precocious completed a reverse banal split, a maneuver mostly reserved for companies looking to revive ailing stock prices amid nan consequence of a imaginable de-listing. The banal has not reacted to nan CEO news successful after-hours trading, remaining adjacent to its closing level of $9.56.
Bowen was a founding personnel of Disney’s streaming activity team, helping to motorboat and standard Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu, pinch nan second precocious coming nether Disney’s afloat control. Prior to joining Disney, Bowen held exec posts astatine News Corp, Dow Jones and Thomson Reuters.
“Following nan operation pinch Hulu + Live TV past year, Fubo has reached a pivotal infinitesimal successful its strategical evolution, pinch a compelling Pay TV platform, beardown contented portfolio and unsocial integration successful nan Disney ecosystem,” said Andy Bird, president of Fubo’s board, said successful a statement. “Alisa’s assignment is nan culmination of a thoughtful process led by nan independent board of nan Board to find nan adjacent leader to beforehand Fubo’s strategy and performance. Alisa is simply a proven usability who brings astir 30 years of product, integer and operational experience, including activity crossed Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+. She has an established way grounds of driving world subscriber maturation and profitability, and we look guardant to benefiting from her acquisition and expertise arsenic Fubo enters its adjacent chapter.”
Bowen said she looked guardant to starring Fubo “in its adjacent shape arsenic we sharpen its strategy crossed sports, news and entertainment, accelerate maturation and thrust profitability, while delivering moreover greater worth to Fubo and Hulu + Live subscribers, our advertisers and our contented partners.”
Bird extended acknowledgment to Gandler connected behalf of nan board.
“As a co-founder, David brought a pioneering imagination and activity that were instrumental successful building Fubo into nan level it is today, starring nan operation pinch Hulu + Live and providing a beardown instauration for early growth,” he said. “We admit each that he has done for nan Company and wish him nan best.”
Gandler called it an “honor” to lead Fubo, which he said is “well positioned for nan future.”
