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In a blog post yesterday, Hulu CEO Jason Kilar revealed his plans to step down from the company at the end of this quarter. CTO Rich Tom is also on his way out. Some are speculating that Hulu’s growth fueled these moves; no longer a startup, pressures from its corporate owners, Disney, Comcast and News Corp., led to friction and may have made the decision to leave a bit easier for Kilar.
Hulu was launched in 2007, when there were few good options for watching TV online. Since then, it has grown to harness some of the best content on the Web – full-length shows from the biggest broadcasters in the world. Read Kilar’s goodbye letter below, and learn more about what Hulu has become and where it might be headed:
“Team -
As you all know, I will be departing Hulu at the end of this quarter. I wanted to share the news that Andy Forssell will be stepping up to lead Hulu as acting CEO after I depart later this month. You know Andy well; he’s been a critical senior executive and has been here from the start of this great adventure. Andy exemplifies the Hulu culture and has been central to Hulu’s journey, helping to grow this company from 2 content partners and no revenue to over 450 content partners and approximately $700 million revenue in 2012. In his role, Andy has built strong relationships with many of our Board members. Andy has the Board’s strong support in leading the team during this important time.
Disney and News Corporation are currently finalizing their forward-looking plans with Hulu, and the senior team has been working closely with them in that process. Once the plans are finalized, a permanent decision will be made regarding the CEO position.
As I mentioned to you all at the beginning of this year, Hulu’s focus remains on delivering a fantastic 2013 for customers and shareholders. Hulu is well on its way, with new records being set in Q1 across both revenue and subscriber additions. The unwavering focus on delighting Hulu’s customers is clearly showing up in the outputs of the business.
Jason”
