Disney is shaking things up in its marketing division as it prepares to fully integrate Hulu into Disney+, with chief brand officer Asad Ayaz and Entertainment Television marketing president Shannon Ryan’s roles expanding.
Ayaz will now serve as Disney Entertainment marketing president, overseeing marketing across studios, television and streaming and reporting directly to the division’s co-chairs Alan Bergman and Dana Walden. He will also continue to drive brand strategy under CEO Bob Iger, including leading the company’s in-house creative agencies for Disney Experiences and Disney Entertainment, Yellow Shoes and The Hive.
Meanwhile, Ryan will continue leading marketing for television content and add direct-to-consumer marketing to her portfolio, overseeing a newly integrated team across Disney+ and Hulu. She will report to Ayaz and will remain on Walden’s leadership team. Hulu marketing chief Barrie Gruner and Disney+ marketing chief Samantha Rosenberg will both report to Ryan moving forward.
“Operating as one cohesive DTC marketing team will enable us to speak to consumers with greater efficiency and impact, and this new structure will also create a deeper connection and collaboration across all of our marketing efforts,” Bergman and Walden said in a memo to staff. “These changes reflect our confidence in the exceptional talent across our marketing organization, and we’re excited for what’s ahead. We are grateful for your continued creativity, passion, and partnership as we shape the future of Disney Entertainment together.”
A 20-year Disney veteran, Ayaz has shaped marketing strategies for some of the most successful film releases in history, including nine of the top 15 box office debuts of all time, and 18 films that have passed the $1 billion mark at the global box office since he began overseeing marketing for the studio.
Key campaigns include Disney’s live-action hits “Lilo & Stitch” and “The Lion King;” Disney Animation’s “Moana 2”, “Encanto,” and “Frozen II;” Pixar’s “Toy Story 4” and “Inside Out 2;” Marvel’s “Deadpool & Wolverine,” “Avengers” and “Black Panther” films; Lucasfilm’s “Star Wars: The Force Awakens;” and 20th Century Studios’ “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,” “Alien: Romulus” and “Avatar: The Way of Water.”
He also has overseen content, brand and performance marketing for streaming, including campaigns for Disney+’s “The Mandalorian,” “Andor,” “Agatha All Along,” WandaVision,” “Loki,” The Beatles: Get Back” and the launch of Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour. Ayaz also led the Disney100 brand campaign celebrating The Walt DisneyCompany’s 100th milestone, the international expansion of D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event into Brazil, and the brand integration of Disney+ and Hulu, and is currently overseeing the creative campaign for Disneyland’s 70th anniversary.
Ryan has led marketing and publicity strategies for Disney+ and Hulu as well as TV content across ABC Entertainment, ABC News, Disney Branded Television, Freeform, Hulu, National Geographic, Onyx Collective and Disney Television
Studios, which include 20th Television and 20th Television Animation.
Campaigns during her tenure have included ABC’s “9-1-1,” “Abbott Elementary,” “The Bachelor” franchise, “Grey’s Anatomy,” “High Potential” “Jimmy Kimmel Live” and “The Oscars”; Hulu originals “Good American Family,” “The Handmaid’s Tale,” “The Kardashians,” “Only Murders in the Building,” “Paradise” and “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives”; Disney Branded Television’s “Bluey” and “Percy Jackson and the Olympians”; the Oscar-nominated National Geographic feature documentary “Sugarcane” and “Limitless” starring Chris Hemsworth; Onyx Collective’s “Deli Boys” and “Reasonable Doubt”; and the syndicated show “Live with Kelly and Mark,” among others.
Prior to Disney, Ryan served as chief marketing officer of the Fox Television Group, a post she had held since 2015. In that role, she oversaw all creative, media, social, digital and affiliate marketing, as well as strategy, brand partnerships, publicity, corporate communications, creative services and talent relations. During her tenure at Fox, she oversaw campaigns for “24,” “9-1-1,” “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” “Empire,” “Glee,” “House,” “Last Man on Earth,” “The Masked Singer,” “The Mindy Project” and “New Girl.”
In its third quarter earnings for 2025, Disney+ and Hulu swung to a profit of $346 million, , compared to a loss of $19 million in the year-ago period, and saw revenue grow 6% to $6.2 billion, driven by price increases and subscriber growth. Together, the streaming services added 2.6 million subscribers for a total of 183.3 million. When including ESPN+’s 24.1 million subscribers, the total count across the three services is 207.4 million.
As part of the integration, Hulu will replace the Star tile on Disney+ in international markets starting in the fall. Work is also underway to make various technical improvements in the Disney+ app, including new features and a more personalized home page. Disney plans to launch a unified, standalone Hulu-Disney+ streaming app in 2026.
Looking ahead, Disney expects to add more than 10 million subscribers in the fiscal fourth quarter, with the majority of the increase coming from Hulu as a result of its expanded deal with Charter Communications. Disney+ subscribers are expected to see a modest increase from the third quarter.
Disney+ and Hulu will also stop reporting subscriber and average revenue per user figures starting in the first quarter of fiscal 2026, while ESPN+ will stop in the fiscal fourth quarter of 2025.
Read the full memo from Walden and Bergman below:
Team,
Disney Entertainment is home to an iconic and acclaimed collection of storytelling brands, and our marketing teams play a vital role in bringing the magic of Disney storytelling to audiences around the world. As we continue to scale our business globally, we’d like to share an update about the future of our marketing structure, particularly focused on supporting the full integration of Hulu into Disney+ that Bob announced during earnings last week.
To create a more unified strategy across streaming, film, and television, we’re realigning our marketing organization to create one best-in-class Disney Entertainment Marketing team under the leadership of Asad Ayaz, who will now report to the both of us. Asad is a strategic leader with sharp creative instincts who has been instrumental in driving high-impact campaigns at both the company and the Studio. As Chief Brand Officer, TWDC, and President, Disney Entertainment Marketing, he will now oversee marketing for our studios, television, and streaming, while continuing to drive brand strategy for the company under Bob Iger, including leading our in-house creative agencies for Disney Experiences and Disney Entertainment. This dual role will further connect all the company’s consumer touchpoints and align our marketing approach.
Shannon Ryan will add DTC to her portfolio and oversee a newly integrated team across Disney+ and Hulu, while continuing to lead marketing for television content. Shannon is a dynamic marketing leader with a proven track record of crafting innovative campaigns that resonate with audiences and create breakout hits. As President, DTC and Disney Entertainment Television Marketing, she will now report to Asad, while remaining on Dana’s leadership team. Barrie Gruner and Samantha Rosenberg will both report to Shannon moving forward.
Operating as one cohesive DTC marketing team will enable us to speak to consumers with greater efficiency and impact, and this new structure will also create a deeper connection and collaboration across all of our marketing efforts. These changes reflect our confidence in the exceptional talent across our marketing organization, and we’re excited for what’s ahead. We are grateful for your continued creativity, passion, and partnership as we shape the future of Disney Entertainment together.
Alan & Dana
