Apple TV is losing the man behind two of its most ambitious streaming deals

(Image credit: iMore / Stephen Warwick)

Apple continues to lose executives at an alarming rate and this time it's someone in charge of some of the biggest Apple TV deals to date.

That person is Pete Distad, someone who currently oversees the business and operations portion of the Apple TV app as well as the Apple TV Plus streaming service. He's said to have been in charge of the decision that signed the deals that brought Major League Soccer and Major League Baseball to the Apple TV app.

Now, the former Hulu employee is said to be on his way out — although it seems that Apple hasn't yet confirmed the move.

Just one of many

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports that Distad plans to leave Apple this month but that the move hasn't yet been confirmed inside Apple. He currently reports to Oliver Schusser who in turn reports to Apple services head Eddy Cue.

But Distad is far from the only one leaving Apple. The company is losing executives at quite a rate, with Mike Abbott leaving to head up GM's software team. That news came as GM confirmed that it wouldn't be putting Apple's CarPlay feature into electric vehicles moving forward.

As for Distad's replacement, "Apple will be elevating sports content executive Jim DeLorenzo to replace Distad on the sports side, and it’s now seeking a replacement for the TV business duties," Gurman reports. "The content arm of Apple TV+ is run by worldwide video heads Jamie Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg."

The Apple TV app has become a key part of Apple's services business. The place that people access Apple TV Plus content from, it's also where iTunes content can be found as well as movies and TV shows that are available via Apple TV Channels partners.

The Apple TV app is of course available on a number of devices including a growing collection of Apple TV 4K alternatives for those who don't want to buy Apple's streaming box..

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too.

Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.