Lauren Tempest has been promoted to general manager at Hulu, effective immediately.
Joe Earley, president of direct-to-consumer at Disney Entertainment announced the news Thursday, saying, “As we enter our next, critical, phase of growth for Hulu, I can think of no one better to lead us through the evolution than Lauren.”
Per the announcement, Tempest will be responsible for driving “overall business strategy.” She added in a statement that she is “excited to help lead and accelerate Hulu’s vision and strategy, particularly during such a major inflection point in the streaming industry.”
Tempest previously served as SVP of content partnerships, acquisitions and scheduling at Hulu since May 2022. In that role, she worked with Disney Television Studios, which includes 20th Television, 20th Animation Television, ABC Signature; Hulu Originals; FX; 20th Century Studios; and Searchlight Pictures. Tempest also worked with third-party partners for the company. Major projects such as FX’s “The Bear,” Dan Trachtenberg’s “Prey” and Hulu’s licensing of “Schitt’s Creek” were launched under her leadership.
Prior to joining Hulu in 2015, Tempest worked for NBCUniversal’s USA Network. She is based in Los Angeles.
Hulu may find itself in a very different position in the near future. Currently, The Walt Disney Company is the majority shareholder of the streamer with Comcast’s NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. In 2019, Comcast announced it would be willing to cede its stake of the company to Disney as early as 2024, adding Hulu the list of streaming services the company wholly owns alongside Disney+ and Star+.
Initially, Disney CEO Bob Iger seemed ambivalent about his desire to keep the streaming service. That attitude has since changed. The executive even announced that Hulu content will be available in the Disney+ app for Disney Bundle subscribers and suggested it would be on the market as early as later this year.
“There seems to be real value in having general entertainment combined with Disney+,” Iger told analysts during the company’s second-quarter earnings call. “And if, ultimately, Hulu is that solution… we’re bullish about that.”
