BURBANK, Calif.-Steven M. Bornstein will leave his post as president of ABC Television, it was announced today by Robert A. Iger, president and chief operating officer of The Walt Disney Company.
Bornstein, who has held the position since May of last year, said he plans to pursue other interests.
“Steve was instrumental in the development of numerous cable and online businesses, and played key roles in the enormous success of ESPN and the successful launch of the ABC Family Channel,” said Iger.
“We appreciate all that he has done for ESPN, ABC Family and ABC and wish him well.”
Before becoming president of ABC Television, Bornstein had been–over a period of more than 22 years–the chairman of Walt Disney Internet Group, president of ABC, Inc., president and CEO of ESPN and president of ABC Sports.
During his tenure of some 20 years with ESPN, including 10 years as its CEO, Bornstein was instrumental in the launching of ESPN2, ESPNews, ESPN Classic and ESPN Radio as well as international distribution and expansion into numerous countries. These moves established ESPN as the worldwide leader in sports entertainment and sports news. ESPN was in its first year of operation when Bornstein joined it as manager of programming.
“I have had the good fortune of having some very challenging and rewarding positions with ESPN, ABC and The Walt Disney Company,” said Bornstein. “There are other interests I wish to pursue and now is an appropriate time to do this.”