After more than two decades at Disney and ESPN, Justin Connolly has departed the Magic Kingdom to join YouTube in a newly created role as global head of media and sports, Variety has confirmed. Disney has responded with a lawsuit against YouTube and Connolly.
Connolly most recently was president of Disney Platform Distribution, overseeing all third-party media sales efforts for distribution, distribution strategy, affiliate marketing and affiliate-related business operations — spanning all of Disney’s direct-to-consumer services including Disney+ and the upcoming ESPN standalone offering, and linear media networks. He also led Disney’s content sales agreements for general entertainment, studios and sports.
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At YouTube, Connolly is tasked with overseeing partnerships with major media companies (including Disney) and sports leagues for the video platform. That will encompass distribution deals for YouTube TV, which with more than 8 million subscribers is the largest U.S. internet-delivered subscription television service.
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In response, Disney sued YouTube and Connolly in the Superior Court of the State of California in Los Angeles over the exec’s hiring, alleging breach of contract, tortious interference in a contractual relationship and “unfair competition.” According to the Disney lawsuit, filed Wednesday, May 21, Connolly had signed a three-year contract in November 2024, which his move to YouTube allegedly violates (as Connolly had a one-time right to terminate it for any reason effective March 1, 2027). YouTube was aware of the terms of Connolly’s contract with Disney and “nevertheless made an offer of employment to Connolly and induced him to breach the Employment Agreement,” according to the Disney suit.
Disney is seeking an injunction to block Connolly’s hiring. YouTube declined to comment on the Disney suit. Bloomberg first reported YouTube’s hiring of Connolly and the Disney lawsuit.
In its lawsuit, Disney said its deal for YouTube TV is due to expire soon — and that it “would be extremely prejudicial to Disney for Connolly to breach the contract which he negotiated just a few months ago and switch teams when Disney is working on a new licensing deal with the company that is trying to poach him.”
In April 2025, Disney said, it became aware of YouTube’s offer of employment to Connolly. “This news came at a critical time in Connolly’s tenure as President of Platform Distribution for Disney. Disney is in the midst of several important product launches and renegotiation of some of its largest distribution deals, and Connolly has been the architect of Disney’s distribution strategy and its principal negotiator,” Disney said in its complaint. “Critically, Connolly leads the Disney team negotiating a license renewal with YouTube. Connolly has intimate knowledge of Disney’s other distribution deals, the financial details concerning Disney’s content being licensed to YouTube, and Disney’s negotiation strategies, both in general and in particular with respect to YouTube. It would be extremely prejudicial to Disney for Connolly to breach the contract which he negotiated just a few months ago and switch teams when Disney is working on a new licensing deal with the company that is trying to poach him.”
Under Connolly’s employment contract, he “agreed to not disclose confidential information or trade secrets of Disney or The Walt Disney Company,” according to Disney’s lawsuit. A copy of the complaint is at this link.
YouTube, meanwhile, has been expanding its acquisition of exclusive sports rights. It inked a seven-year deal with the NFL to become the U.S. home of the Sunday Ticket package starting with the 2023-24 season. Sunday Ticket includes access to all out-of-market Sunday regular season NFL games (based on a viewer’s location) broadcast on CBS and Fox. Last week, YouTube announced an extension of the NFL pact to exclusively stream the first Friday game of the 2025-26 football season, to be played in São Paolo, Brazil, for free worldwide (with the exception of Canada and a few other countries).
YouTube’s hiring of Connolly was announced internally in a memo Thursday from chief business officer Mary Ellen Coe.
Connolly notified Disney he was exiting the company on Friday, May 16, per the Disney lawsuit. At Disney, taking over Connolly’s duties on an interim basis are Sean Breen, executive VP of platform distribution, and Jimmy Zasowski, executive VP of platform distribution strategy.
Connolly originally joined ESPN in 2003 and served in various capacities including director of ESPN strategy and operations and VP, distribution strategy. Connolly was named head of Disney & ESPN Affiliate Sales and Marketing in 2015 and in June 2017 added oversight of ESPN’s strategy and business development teams.
Prior to joining ESPN, Connolly worked in Disney’s corporate finance group in Burbank. The Boston native holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Harvard University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
