Apple hires a top dealmaker who worked for Quibi, Hulu, and Disney

By

Tim Connolly LinkedIn
Connolly recently updated his LinkedIn profile.
Photo: LinkedIn

Apple has hired a former executive who worked for shortform video service Quibi, in addition to Hulu and Disney, to work on growing its video-focused endeavors.

Spotted by the UK’s Telegraph newspaper, Tim Connolly recently updated his LinkedIn profile to reflect his job at Apple. It’s not evident exactly when he started working in the new role.

The report describes Connolly as a “top dealmaker.” He was reportedly a key player in making a deal between Hulu and Spotify that bundles their services. He also helped to broker a Hulu initiative involving live TV, which meant bringing big networks on board.

He was supposed to do something similar at Quibi. However, he left nine months prior to Quibi launching. He was not replaced in the role.

Exactly what Connolly will be doing at Apple isn’t clear. Still, the company continues to grow its star team for Apple TV+. This involves signing big deals with A-list entities ranging from Martin Scorsese to Leonardo DiCaprio. It also may be planning to start bundling some of its services together for an Amazon Prime-style service called Apple One.

Apple TV+ launched in November 2019. The company has yet to reveal subscriber numbers to give a sense of how widely watched it is.

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