When NBCUniversal acquired the rights to the U.S. Women’s Open golf tournament in 2021 as part of a multiyear agreement with the United States Golf Association, then-USGA CEO Mike Davis said he was “excited” about the increased exposure the tournaments would receive with the addition of NBCU’s streaming service, Peacock.

This past July, the USGA realized its goal of increased viewership and awareness through Peacock for the 78th U.S. Women’s Open. The tournament from Pebble Beach, California, finished as the most-streamed women’s golf tournament in NBC Sports history, nearly tripling its consumption from a year prior.

Peacock’s audience, combined with NBC’s linear TV coverage of the tournament over the July 8-9 weekend, averaged 1.34 million viewers, up 76% vs. 2022 (765,000 viewers) and 35% vs. 2021 (995,000 viewers).

“Across the board, the 2023 U.S. Women’s Open was a record-breaking championship, in large part due the commitment by NBCU to showcase the championship and its players with more programming across more hours, including primetime on the East Coast,” USGA chief commercial officer Jon Podany said. “The record-breaking streaming numbers on Peacock are a testament to that commitment, as well as the growing interest in the U.S. Women’s Open and women’s golf as a whole.”

Peacock’s commitment to showcasing live women’s sports programming extends beyond the golf links to a bevy of live-action sporting events featuring pro and amateur female athletes. The three-year-old streaming service has increased its women’s sports content by more than 20% in 2023, compared to 2022, offering high-profile events in figure skating, cycling, snowboarding, gymnastics, track and field and tennis. 

Teaming with NBCUniversal-owned Telemundo, Peacock streamed live Spanish-language coverage of all 64 FIFA Women’s World Cup matches this summer, a first for the streaming platform. The service hit paydirt on July 27 when the United States met the Netherlands. The match, which ended in a 1-1 draw, delivered an average minute audience (AMA) of 244,000 viewers, besting Fox’s English-language stream AMA of 197,000, NBCU said.

The U.S. team advanced to the knockout stage of the tournament but lost to Sweden on August 6.

More Events, Docs in Lineup

Still on the docket for Peacock in the women’s sports arena is live coverage of golf’s AIG Women’s Open and the LPGA Kroger Queen City Championship; the 2023 World Athletics Track & Field competition; the 2023 World Gymnastics Championships; Big Ten women’s basketball games; and the 2023 ISU Grand Prix Figure Skating event. 

In 2024, Peacock will focus its cameras on women’s sports events as it covers 2024 Summer Olympics from Paris. 

Beyond live events, Peacock is serving fans of women’s sports with documentary programming. Notable on that front are originals Golden: The Journey of USA’s Elite Gymnastics, which chronicled the journey of five elite American gymnasts as they headed to the 2022 Summer Olympic trials, and The ’96 Effect, which profiled the 1996 U.S. women’s softball, soccer and basketball teams.

NBCUniversal president of Peacock and direct-to-consumer Kelly Campbell discussed the growing appeal of women’s sports programming and offered an overview of the streaming service’s strategy for acquiring and streaming women’s sports content in an interview with Multichannel News. A lightly edited version of the interview follows. 

MCN: What is Peacock’s strategy with regard to its investment in live women’s sports programming?

Kelly Campbell: Live programming — and sports in particular — has been core to our strategy from day one, and women’s sports is an important part of that. Fandom is a key component of the Peacock brand, and we want fans of women’s sports, which has a passionate and growing audience, to look at Peacock as their streaming home. This year we have about 20% more women’s sports than last year and women’s sports will continue to play an important role as Peacock continues to grow. 

MCN: Why is there such a growing audience interest in live women’s sports content among viewers? What are Peacock’s plans to add more women’s sports programming to its overall lineup of live sports programming? 

KC: Beyond meeting the demand for women’s sports, we are investing in it and helping to fuel it. Making women’s sports available on streaming is pivotal to the continued growth of these events because it makes them easily accessible and available to a broader audience than ever before. Without the restrictions of traditional programming and the ability to watch on-demand, streaming unlocks even more possibilities for fans.

MCN: What impact has Peacock’s Women’s World Cup coverage had on its strategy of showcasing live women’s sports content?

KC: This summer, we’re particularly proud that in partnership with Telemundo all 64 matches of the FIFA Women’s World Cup were available to stream on Peacock in Spanish. This is the first time the entire tournament has been available to stream, regardless of language, and it’s been a huge success both for Peacock and the sport. The U.S. vs. Netherlands match in the Women’s World Cup was the most-streamed Women’s World Cup match ever, proving that not only is there a passionate fanbase for the sport, but an interest in women’s sports on streaming that is very real. Similarly, as the streaming home of the 2024 Paris Olympics, Peacock will stream every single event for fans, allowing more access and visibility to a larger spectrum of women’s events and athletes that may not get the opportunity to be showcased in edited highlight reels or programming packages.

MCN: What advantage does the inclusion of live women’s sports have in attracting sports fans to Peacock and the streaming platform? 

KC: Peacock is the most complete streaming service and live sports are a great point of entry to Peacock. When fans of the Women’s World Cup or the LPGA come to Peacock for a specific event, we see them sticking around to explore our other offerings, including original series like Poker Face, new movies like The Super Mario Bros. Movie, a Bravo franchise, or more sports like the Premier League or Sunday Night Football.

MCN: How does non-live women’s sports-themed programming play into the appeal of women’s sports programming on the service?  

KC: For sports fans, we also offer so much more beyond live coverage. We are home to documentaries on a range of sports and icons including Golden: The Journey of USA’s Elite Gymnasts and Meddling: The Olympic Skating Scandal That Shocked the World, which were both nominated for Sports Emmys. We are also always innovating our product experience to bring sports fans closer to the action, particularly our “Catch Up with Key Plays” feature available in soccer matches that allows you to catch up on the action you missed without leaving the game. 

So Hulu is losing another president, in this case Kelly Campbell, departing less than two years after taking over for Randy Freer, who left two years after taking over for Mike Hopkins. 

Campbell, like Hopkins, is heading to a competitor. In Campbell’s case, she’s taking over as president of Comcast’s streaming also-ran, Peacock. 

While it’s true that Peacock is both smaller and less successful than Hulu, it does come with a more secure and straightforward future as part of Brian Roberts’ bottomless portfolio of video distributors.

That’s certainly not the case with Hulu’s clear-as-mud future. 

Regardless, good for Campbell. On to the next adventure, whatever it may be. 

Who’s Next Among Hulu Execs?

Now, Hulu controlling partner, Disney, must install a new sucker, er, executive to run its oldest, most lucrative, and most widely used service while it continues to figure out just where Hulu fits in the Mouse House streaming future. 

It’s possible the service will just continue without a president. Campbell’s direct reports now belong to her former boss, Rebecca Campbell (No Relation), Disney’s chairman of international operations and DTC. Maybe the spot doesn’t get filled. 

Or maybe Disney waits until it resolves a lot of questions about what’s next for Hulu. The potential for more Hul-uncertainty right now seems boundless: 

> What terms will be signed between Comcast and Disney over a cable retransmission agreement for its ABC and ESPN groups that expires before year end? What provisions will be made for big-picture issues such as allowing ESPN to go fully direct-to-consumer, a move that would solve some of ESPN Plus’s boundless annoyances, but at a far higher subscription price?

> What happens with arbitration between Comcast and Disney in a festering dispute over Hulu’s true value? After Disney bought effective control of Hulu in its 2019 Fox mega acquisition, Comcast signed a deal to sell Disney its 30% stake in 2024, for a minimum $27.5 billion total valuation. But Comcast argues that Disney has forestalled Hulu international expansion while launching Star, something that looks a lot like Hulu, everywhere else. That’s one way to dramatically reduce Hulu’s potential valuation, but sure feels like a bait-and-switch tactic that the Scarlett Johanssons of the world will recognize. 

> Settling that valuation issue may lead to an early departure by Comcast programming on Hulu, just in time for Kelly Campbell to integrate those repatriated shows into Peacock. To boot, she’ll have a nice, multi-billion-dollar nest egg to finance more original programming on the bejeweled bird as it finally tries to take wing. 

> But if those Comcast shows depart early, how will Hulu fill the resulting programming hole? Can it ramp up production fast enough to keep consumers around? Can ABC, Freeform, and FX/FXX network shows be enough? Can the company make enough online originals to fill the hole? The Handmaid’s Tale may have been the Susan Lucci of streaming originals at this year’s Emmys (it went 0 for 21), but it’s a fine show. Will Disney cough up the cash to make lots more such programming so Hulu can remain competitive? 

Time For a Mega-Bundle and Spinoff?

Analysts such as LightShed Partners have suggested repeatedly that Disney merge its three-headed domestic streaming bundle, probably after spinning off ESPN and ABC and partnering ESPN with a top-tier sports book for a big payday. So far, executives have resisted those nostrums. 

In some ways, the ongoing uncertainty is just par for the Hulu hoop. Prognosticating what’s next for the company has been an industry guessing game for years, practically since Hulu launched under founding CEO Jason Kilar. 

Back then, Hulu was a place where big Hollywood media companies allowed fans to stream old episodes of their broadcast and cable TV shows, without going through the hassle of building their own service, or a direct relationship with fans. Hulu v. 1 was mostly about extracting a few more bucks from suddenly streaming-aware audiences while blunting investor complaints that the media companies weren’t embracing the future. 

First two, then three, then four, media companies owned a piece of Hulu, making the president’s job as much about diplomacy as operational or marketing talent, trying to balance competing priorities from a group of fractious owners with minority stakes.

But as early as 2011, three years after Hulu was founded, owners considered a possible sale or IPO. But as has happened repeatedly since, valuing the company has always been difficult. especially with no guarantees that programming deals would come along too. 

Caring For a Golden Goose

These days, for all the back-office machinations, Hulu is a bit of a golden goose, deserving careful handling. 

Last quarter,  Disney reported that Hulu had 42.8 million subscribers, with an admirable monthly revenue per sub of $13.50 for Hulu's SVOD side, which has 39.1 million paying subscribers. The skinny bundle version, Hulu Plus Live TV, brings in nearly $85 per month from each of its 3.7 million subs. For some sobering perspective, Wall Street darling Disney Plus and lost child ESPN Plus each generate about $4 per subscriber.

Despite that relatively unsung but significant success, Disney may again be looking for someone to run the place. 

Of course, there is one executive with the experience, relationships and knowledge the job needs. Best of all, he’ll be available soon. 

That Uber-candidate would be WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar, Hulu’s long-departed founding CEO. When AT&T spins out its media assets into a joint venture with Discovery by early next year, Kilar said he’ll be out of a job. 

Who knows? Maybe the saga of the returning hero coming home to the place where he first made his streaming reputation would prove irresistible to Bob Chapek, et al. What a Disney moment it would be! They could even commission a behind-the-scenes documentary to provide some original, heartwarming, and badly needed programming for Hulu. Who says there aren’t any happy endings anymore? 

NBCUniversal said it named former Hulu head Kelly Campbell as president of Peacock, effective November.

Campbell, who resigned from Hulu earlier this week, will work under Matt Strauss, who launched Peacock as chairman, direct-to-consumer and international at NBCUniversal.

“On the heels of Peacock’s success in its first year, we are thrilled to bring Kelly’s leadership and expertise to the team as we continue to accelerate Peacock’s vision and strategy,” said Strauss.  

Also Read: NBCU Profits Up Despite $363 Million Loss for Peacock

While Strauss may think of Peacock as a success in some way, it remains an also ran in the streaming race and was the leader in churn among the major streaming services, according to Kantar.

While Comcast’s Kantar owns Peacock, it also owns a stake in Hulu, which it is scheduled to sell to The Walt Disney Co., which holds a majority interest. 

Kelly Campbell has abruptly departed her post as president of Hulu and is reportedly in talks to join NBCUniversal. 

The news first came via an internal Disney memo, which says that Rebecca Campbell, no relation, and chair of international operations for Hulu, will will handle, at least for now, the outgoing Campbell's direct reports. 

Reps for The Walt Disney Company, the controlling majority shareholder for joint venture Hulu, confirmed the departure, but have yet to comment. 

Also read: Hulu Is Already Profitable, Will Grow to 65 Million Subscribers By 2024, Analyst Predicts

Campbell, meanwhile, also confirmed her own departure on her LinkedIn profile, also sans rationale. 

"While I’ve made the decision to move on from Hulu, I’ll forever bleed green," she wrote. "As for what’s next, stay tuned..."

While neither Disney or Campbell would specify on the executive's next job, the Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources, said she's in talks to join NBCU about a possible high-level role with Peacock.

NBCU is reportedly looking to replace Gidon Katz, currently president of direct-to-consumer overseeing Peacock, who plans to leave NBCU for another job. 

Campbell held the Hulu presidency since February 2020. The former Hulu CMO, who arrived at the joint venture in August 2017 after a 12-year stint at Google, was put in charge following a Disney reorganization of both its broader business portfolio and the Hulu joint venture, all to focus more on direct-to-consumer streaming.

Notably, her job description didn't include original scripted programming. (Speculation has already emerged that FX Chairman John Landgraf might step into Campbell's role as the permanent replacement, with much of Hulu's bigger shows originating from FX.)

In a subsequent reorg, Rebecca Campbell was put in charge of international operations and direct-to-consumer in October 2020, reporting directly to Disney head honcho Bob Chapek.

Disney became the controlling shareholder in Hulu in 2019 following its purchase of Fox's entertainment assets and the subsequent buyout of AT&T's 10% interest. 

In her own note to staff Monday, Rebecca Campbell noted that, "For an interim period, Scott Donaton, Reagan Feeney, Karin Gilford, Brian Henderson and Annie Luo will report into me. Additionally, leaders of the Disney Streaming cross-business teams--Joe Inzerillo, Jerrell Jimerson, Jaya Kolkatkar and Karen Van Kirk--will dual-report to Michael Paull and, temporarily, to me."

Campbell added, "Hulu remains an important part of our direct-to-consumer strategy, and I look forward to working closely with all of you until her replacement is named."

The Walt Disney Co. has named veteran Hulu marketing executive Kelly Campbell as president of the streaming service.

Campbell, who had been CMO, will report to Kevin Mayer, chairman of Disney’s Direct-to-Consumer & International unit.

The move follows the departure of Hulu CEO Randy Freer, who announced his exit last month as Disney asserts more control over Hulu. Disney last year acquired a controlling interest in Hulu, which had been a joint venture between Fox, NBCUniversal and Time Warner Inc.

Also read: Freer Leaving Hulu as Disney Asserts Control

“Kelly is an immensely talented leader who has been a driving force in defining Hulu’s brand vision and strategy,” said Mayer. “She has built a tremendous multi-talented team and developed strategic campaigns that helped double Hulu’s subscriber base. Our senior leadership team is excited to welcome her aboard and can’t wait to work together to further grow Hulu’s footprint in the US and beyond.”

As CMO, Campbell was responsible for subscribers growth, brand content and business to business marketing, creative development, research and insights and viewer experience.

Also read: Disney Plus: How It Went From Zero to 28.6 Million in Less Than Three Months

Before Hulu, Campbell was at Google, and JPMorgan Chase. 

“This is a time of tremendous growth and transformation for Hulu, and I am incredibly energized by the opportunity ahead as we enter into this next chapter,” said Campbell. “The Hulu team is among the brightest, most technologically and creatively audacious in the industry, and I know we are going to do great things as part of the pioneering and equally bold team Kevin has built at DTCI.”