Susan Wojcicki, the previous YouTube CEO who helped carry NFL Sunday Price ticket to the channel, died Friday at age 56.
Her husband, Dennis Troper, introduced the scoop by means of Fb. Wojcicki had battled lung most cancers for 2 years.
Wojcicki had an enormous presence within the tech trade. She was once probably the most first staff of Google again in 1999, serving as the corporate’s first advertising and marketing government. Co-founders Larry Web page and Sergey Brin operated the corporate for a day trip of Wojcicki’s storage in Menlo Park, California.
Over time, Wojcicki took on a extra outstanding function, main the release of Google Video in 2005, and a 12 months later supervising the acquisition of the fledgling YouTube.
She changed into YouTube CEO in 2014, and led the corporate to explosive enlargement in her nine-year tenure. Wojcicki oversaw the release of YouTube TV, which now has greater than 8 million consumers. She made the brand new undertaking a participant in sports activities media rights, negotiating the 2022 acquisition of Sunday Price ticket with a seven-year deal reportedly value greater than $2 billion in line with 12 months.
Wojcicki additionally had eyes at the Thursday Evening Soccer streaming package deal at one level, pronouncing in 2018 she’d “like to circulation the NFL.” Amazon Top in the end landed an 11-year, $11 billion handle the NFL for the ones rights.
YouTube TV additionally blazed a path for different streaming products and services in the hunt for sports activities rights. In 2018, the corporate landed broadcast rights for the MLS’ Los Angeles FC, the primary time a streaming carrier bought one of these handle a U.S. professional sports activities crew.
Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai paid tribute to Wojcicki on X early Saturday.
“Unbelievably saddened through the lack of my expensive buddy @SusanWojcicki after two years of residing with most cancers. She is as core to the historical past of Google as someone, and it’s laborious to consider the sector with out her.” Pichai wrote. “She was once an out of this world individual, chief and buddy who had an amazing have an effect on at the international and I’m one among numerous Googlers who is best for figuring out her. We can omit her dearly. Our ideas together with her circle of relatives. RIP Susan.”
Unbelievably saddened through the lack of my expensive buddy @SusanWojcicki after two years of residing with most cancers. She is as core to the historical past of Google as someone, and it’s laborious to consider the sector with out her. She was once an out of this world individual, chief and buddy who had an amazing…
— Sundar Pichai (@sundarpichai) August 10, 2024