Kevin Mayer, the chief who led Disney’s streaming efforts, is leaving the corporate to become the CEO of TikTok.
Mayer is leaving Disney after he was widely viewed as being omitted for the highest job earlier this year. Mayer is going to be the CEO of the favored short-form video app as well as the chief operating officer of ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company. He was the chairman of Disney’s direct-to-consumer unit since its founding in 2018.
TikTok’s popularity is surging during the coronavirus pandemic as many of us round the world still stay home and look for fresh ways to occupy their time.
Under Mayer’s leadership, Disney shifted its business focus from films and tv to the planet of streaming. The move led to Disney+ beginning fast with quite 50 million paid subscribers during a matter of months.
Mayer’s departure may be a surprising one, but comes after he wasn’t chosen to exchange Bob Iger as Disney’s CEO earlier this year. That job ultimately visited Bob Chapek, who served as chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products.
“I am very pleased with what our extraordinarily talented Direct-to-Consumer and International team has accomplished in creating and delivering a world-class portfolio of streaming services, particularly Disney+,” Mayer said during a statement Monday.
TikTok was downloaded 315 million times from January through March, consistent with analytics firm Sensor Tower, surpassing the other app ever for one quarter. TikTok now has 2 billion downloads, double its total from just 15 months ago.
However, lawmakers within the us have warned that the Chinese-owned app could pose a national security risk. Senators Chuck Schumer and Tom Cotton previously said TikTok and other Chinese-owned platforms might be wont to spy on US citizens or for foreign interference campaigns.
Naming an American CEO from a family-friendly brand like Disney, which also features a massive China presence, might be how to assist address regulatory scrutiny.
“TikTok and its Chinese ownership have come under tons of scrutiny over the past few years, and bringing in someone with a robust , major media company pedigree within the US, is perhaps getting to be a sensible move for them,” said Debra Aho Williamson, principal analyst at eMarketer.
On Monday, Republican Sen. Josh Hawley tweeted that he looks forward to hearing from TikTok’s new CEO “under oath.”
.@tiktok_us previously told me they couldn’t attend hearings and testify because executives were located in #China. But this new executive lives in the USA. I look forward to hearing from him. Under oath. https://t.co/XPfiVpo9Ta
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) May 18, 2020
TikTok is that the only social media network owned by a Chinese company to require off significantly outside of China. Still, it faces stiff competition from established players, including Facebook (FB) and its subsidiary Instagram, also as YouTube.
While the app has long been very fashionable with teens, it’s recently seen a surge of interest from millennials and Gen Xers. While under stay-at-home orders, many families have embraced the app’s popular dance challenges and other trends.
Disney announced that Rebecca Campbell would be taking up for Mayer because the new head of Disney’s streaming division. Campbell last served because the president of the company’s Disneyland Resort in California.
Disney also named Josh D’Amaro because the new chairman of Disney’s parks, experiences and products unit — a spot that was left vacant by Chapek.
The news of Mayer’s departure comes during a rough year for Disney, because the coronavirus pandemic has hit nearly every a part of its business: its parks and resorts have closed round the world, major films like “Mulan” and “Black Widow” are delayed, and one among its biggest media networks, ESPN, is scrambling to fill its airtime thanks to a scarcity of sports. the corporate reported earlier this month that its profit dropped a whopping 91% half-moon .
The one bright spot for the corporate has been Disney+. in only five months, the company’s streaming service racked up 50 million paid subscribers globally, variety it originally projected would take nearly four years to hit.
Now, Disney has got to head into an unknown future without the person who helped build Disney+ into a new streaming giant.
