John Lasker, a senior streaming executive who helped drive ESPN's move into direct-to-consumer services, is to leave the Disney-owned sports network in late September. According to a person familiar with the matter, the departure is Lasker's own decision. His exit comes as streaming grows in importance across the industry, with viewers increasingly abandoning traditional cable, making his oversight area a central part of ESPN's future.

Lasker has spent 27 years at ESPN, joining in 1999 as a supervisor of sales planning before rising through roles in account sales and programming, and taking on responsibility for digital media programming and acquisitions in 2006. He helped develop and launch ESPN Mobile TV in 2006, ESPN3.com in 2010, WatchESPN in 2011 and ESPN+ in 2018, working across teams at ESPN, Disney+ and Hulu. Brian Marshall, vice-president of sports products and strategy, will oversee Lasker's team on an interim basis, while executive vice-president Rosalyn Durant praised Lasker's vision and willingness to embrace innovation in a memo to staff. Before ESPN, Lasker was a media buyer at Zenith Media in New York and graduated from Marist College in 1997.