Ant Hearne joins Kayo Sports as chief commercial officer
Foxtel’s sport streaming platform Kayo Sports has appointed Ant Hearne as chief commercial officer. Hearne joins after recently returning to Australia from New York after almost three years with marketing technology startup Rokt.
Hearne brings over 20 years experience working with startups and tech companies to the role, and will lead commercial strategies and customer acquisition for Kayo.
Ant Hearne Photo: John Feder/The Australian.
Prior to his role with Rokt, Hearne spent more than four years with native advertising platform Outbrain, initially as regional director of SEA, India and new markets, before taking on the vice president of global marketing role.
Hearne has also previously held roles with News Corp, Virgin and Optus.
Julian Ogrin, CEO Kayo Sports, said Hearne’s appointment will ‘supercharge’ the streaming platform’s growth.
“Ant joins the company at an exciting time. He will help supercharge our commercial and digital strategies, tapping into his global experience to deliver new and contemporary ways to grow the business. We can’t wait to have him on board,” Ogrin said.
Hearne, who will join the company on September 9, will focus on driving business growth through data driven digital initiatives.
“With some impressive early success, Kayo is quickly transforming how Australians experience sport. The product is world class, and with plenty more in store, will only get better. I can’t think of a more exciting business to be a part of at this time,” said Hearne.
When asked whether Hearne’s appointment signalled a move towards the inclusion of additional advertising on the Kayo platform, a spokesperson said that while the business is looking to expand in that area, there are currently no specific plans.
“Advertising is currently on the platform and we are looking forward to expanding these opportunities in the future,” said the spokesperson.
News Corp, parent company of Foxtel and Kayo Sports, reported the platform had 331,000 paying subscribers as of June 2019, following its launch in November 2018. Hearne’s appointment follows the departure of chief marketing officer Carly Loder, who left the company last month.
