BEN PYNE TO OVERSEE AS PRESIDENT, GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION, DISNEY-ABC WORLDWIDE TELEVISION & DISNEY MEDIA NETWORKS
DAVID PRESCHLACK PROMOTED TO EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, DISNEY & ESPN NETWORKS AFFILIATE U.S. SALES AND MARKETING, REPORTING TO MR. PYNE
MOVES PREDICATED BY ANNOUNCEMENT THAT RESPECTED INDUSTRY VETERAN LAURIE YOUNGER WILL RETIRE AT THE END OF HER CONTRACT IN JANUARY 2008
BURBANK, Calif., June 20, 2007 — The Walt Disney Company today announced the formation of an integrated Global Television Distribution unit, following the announcement that Laurie Younger, President, Disney-ABC Worldwide Television, will retire at the end of her contract in January 2008. Through that date Ms. Younger will assist in transitioning to the new structure and will be available to provide counsel to the management team.
In commenting on Ms. Younger’s decision to retire, Anne Sweeney, Co-Chair, Disney Media Networks & President, Disney-ABC Television Group, and Dick Cook, Chairman, The Walt Disney Studios, stated: “For the past two decades, Laurie has worked tirelessly on behalf of The Walt Disney Company, and, while it pains us to see her go, we applaud her decision and wish her all the best going forward.”
Ms. Younger added: “This decision was not arrived at lightly, nor is it one that comes without some real sadness regarding the amazing people I’m leaving behind. For 20-plus years, I have had the privilege of touching every aspect of the television business, and now seems the appropriate time to start the next chapter and explore some new avenues.”
The new unit will combine several existing distribution-focused departments under the leadership of Ben Pyne, who has been named President, Global Distribution, Disney-ABC Worldwide Television & Disney Media Networks, reporting to Ms. Sweeney and Alan Bergman, President, The Walt Disney Studios. For domestic responsibilities concerning ESPN, Mr. Pyne will continue reporting to Sean Bratches, Executive Vice President, Sales and Marketing, ESPN and ABC Sports. He will also work closely with Andy Bird, President, Walt Disney International. The appointment is effective immediately.
In this new role, Mr. Pyne, who formerly served as President, Disney & ESPN Networks Affiliate Sales and Marketing, will assume chief responsibility for the International distribution and sales of the far-reaching portfolio of entertainment and news content produced by The Walt Disney Company. This includes all feature films, television series, kids’ programming, made-for-TV movies, miniseries, News documentaries, TV animation and direct-to video content – and their distribution to all platforms, including the burgeoning video-on-demand (VOD) and broadband markets. He will also oversee domestic distribution of the Company’s television content handled by Disney-ABC Domestic Television, and will assume responsibility for the ABC Television Network’s Affiliate Relations department.
In commenting on his announcement, Ms. Sweeney stated: “I’ve had the pleasure of working alongside Ben for the past 10 years, and there is no one better suited or more deserving of this enormous responsibility. He is a consummate professional, a fantastic dealmaker and a great manager.”
Mr. Bergman added: “This is an exciting time for content distribution across various platforms, and we are confident that Ben will help keep Disney at the forefront of the industry.”
“I’m honored that the Company has entrusted me with this amazing opportunity, and I’m looking forward to getting started. Laurie has built an amazingly rich division with incredibly talented people already in place, and I look forward to working alongside each of them as we continue to build a world-class distribution and sales team,” commented Mr. Pyne.
As part of the new structure, David Preschlack has been promoted to Executive Vice President, Disney & ESPN Networks Affiliate Sales and Marketing, with oversight of Mr. Pyne’s previous areas of responsibility, including direction of all affiliate distribution, affiliate relations, affiliate marketing and local ad sales for the U.S. cable and satellite networks of The Walt Disney Company: ABC News Now, ABC Family, Disney Channel, SOAPnet, Toon Disney, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Classic, ESPNEWS, ESPN Deportes, ESPN HD, ESPN2 HD and ESPNU. He will also be in charge of U.S. distribution of related HDTV, broadband, video-on-demand, subscription video-on-demand, interactive television, pay-per-view, Spanish-language and sports syndication products. In this position, Mr. Preschlack will continue to report to Mr. Pyne and will work closely with Mr. Bratches on all ESPN-related affiliate matters.
“David is an exceptionally talented, strategically-minded executive with a rich history at the Company. He is the ideal person to take over and lead the distribution efforts for our portfolio of U.S. cable and satellite networks and related products,” said Mr. Pyne. “He has been a catalyst behind the many distribution gains and promotional initiatives that have made the Disney & ESPN Networks Affiliate Sales and Marketing team an industry leader in recent years.”
Biographical material for Ben Pyne:
Prior to this announcement, Mr. Pyne had served as President, Disney & ESPN Networks Affiliate Sales and Marketing, a role he was promoted to in October 2005. In this capacity, he directed all affiliate distribution, affiliate relations, affiliate marketing and local ad sales for the U.S. cable and satellite networks of The Walt Disney Company: ABC News Now, ABC Family, Disney Channel, SOAPnet, Toon Disney, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Classic, ESPNEWS, ESPN Deportes, ESPN HD and ESPNU. He also oversaw U.S. distribution of related HDTV, broadband, video-on-demand, subscription video-on-demand, interactive television, pay-per-view, Spanish-language, and sports syndication products. He previously served as Executive Vice President, Disney and ESPN Affiliate Sales and Marketing, from June 2004 through September 2005 and worked closely with Sean Bratches on the successful integration of the ESPN and ABC Cable Networks Group Sales Teams.
Previous to the merging of the ESPN and Disney-ABC Cable Networks Groups affiliate sales and marketing teams, Mr. Pyne served from 2000-2004 as Senior Vice President, Affiliate Sales and Marketing for Disney-ABC Cable Networks Group, overseeing all cable and satellite distribution, local ad sales and affiliate marketing for the four basic cable networks within the Group: ABC Family, Disney Channel, SOAPnet and Toon Disney. Under his guidance, Disney Channel transitioned from a pay cable service to an expanded basic service growing from 6.5 million subscribers in 1992 when he joined the Company to the more than 92 million today.
In addition, Mr. Pyne directed negotiations for retransmission consent agreements for ABC’s owned stations and has been a key participant in the development and launch of new businesses and services for The Walt Disney Company including the successful subscription video service “Disney Channel on Demand” and the high-speed access program “A Better Connection.” His team also launched successful affiliate marketing and public affairs initiatives, among them “Learning Together,” a critically acclaimed outreach program that has received numerous Beacon Award from Cable Television’s Public Affairs Association (CTPAA.)
Mr. Pyne has a BA from Princeton University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He was also Orchestra Manager of the New Jersey Symphony from 1985-90, just prior to attending Business School, and has experience with other nonprofit associations prior to that. Maintaining a strong interest in music, Mr. Pyne continues to play the classical guitar. He currently resides in New York City with his wife and two sons.
Biographical material for Laurie Younger:
Laurie Younger, an accomplished entertainment industry executive with more than 20 years’ experience at The Walt Disney Company, was appointed President, Buena Vista Worldwide Television (since renamed Disney-ABC Worldwide Television) in February 2003. She reports to Anne Sweeney, Co-chair Disney Media Networks and President, Disney-ABC Television Group, and to Dick Cook, Chairman, The Walt Disney Studios.
As President, Disney-ABC Worldwide Television, Ms. Younger has chief responsibility for domestic and international distribution of the far-reaching portfolio of creative content produced by The Walt Disney Company. This includes films, television series, made-for-TV movies, miniseries, TV animation and direct-to videos – and their distribution to all platforms, including the burgeoning video-on-demand (VOD) and broadband markets.
Ms. Younger had been Executive Vice President of Television Distribution, ABC, Inc., since 2000, as well as Senior Vice President and chief financial officer, ABC Inc., since 1998. Earlier in her career she served as Senior Vice President, ABC, Inc., where she coordinated business activities among ABC’s various business units, assisted ABC divisions as they created intra-company ventures and developed opportunities with other business partners.
She has also been Senior Vice President, Business Affairs and Administration, Walt Disney Television and Telecommunications. In this position Ms. Younger was responsible for Business Affairs and Administration for the entire Disney Television and Telecommunications division, including TV network, TV animation, international and domestic syndication, Disney Channel, home video and the interactive unit.
Ms. Younger joined the network television group of The Walt Disney Company at its inception in 1985 as Director, Business Affairs, Network Television. She was soon promoted to Vice President, Business Affairs, for the division and subsequently named Senior Vice President, Network Television. Prior to joining Disney, Ms. Younger spent eight years at 20th Century Fox, where she rose to Director, Business Affairs.
A native New Yorker, Ms. Younger holds an MBA degree from UCLA and an undergraduate degree in communications from Queens College. She is based in Burbank, CA.
Biographical material on David Preschlack:
Since January 2006, David Preschlack has served as Senior Vice President, Disney & ESPN Affiliate Sales and Marketing, overseeing field sales, national accounts, business strategy, affiliate ad sales and affiliate marketing for all Disney and ESPN products and services in the U.S. He was formerly Senior Vice President, National Accounts, with responsibility for all domestic distribution and licensing efforts for The Walt Disney Company’s assets within the Media Networks Group.
Mr. Preschlack joined ESPN as a Videotape Librarian in July 1995 and began working for the Affiliate Sales and Marketing department in 1996 as a Sales Coordinator. He was promoted to Associate Account Executive, Affiliate Sales and Marketing, Northeast Region (1997), Account Executive, Northeast Region (1997-1999), Senior Account Executive, Affiliate Sales and Marketing, Northeast Region (1999-2000), Director, Affiliate Sales and Marketing, Northeast Region (2000-02), and Vice President, National Accounts, Affiliate Sales and Marketing (2002-04).
Mr. Preschlack graduated from Denison University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics in 1995. He currently resides in Southport, CT with his wife and three young children.
The Disney-ABC Television Group is home to all of The Walt Disney Company’s (NYSE: DIS) worldwide entertainment and news television properties. The Group includes the ABC Television Network (including ABC Daytime, ABC Entertainment and ABC News divisions), Disney Channel’s worldwide portfolio of kids’ channels, ABC Family and SOAPnet; as well as television production and syndication divisions ABC Studios, Disney-ABC Domestic Television and Disney-ABC International Television. Disney-ABC Television Group also manages the Radio Disney Network in addition to the Company’s equity interest in Lifetime Entertainment Services and A&E Television Networks.
The Walt Disney Studios is a unit of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) and produces and distributes motion pictures under the following banners: Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Feature Animation, Disney-Pixar Animation and DisneyToon Studios as well as Touchstone Pictures, Hollywood Pictures and Miramax Films. Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Distribution International serves as the studio’s international distribution arm. Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment distributes Disney and other film titles to the rental and sell-through home entertainment markets worldwide. Disney Theatrical Productions is one of the largest producers of Broadway musicals, and the Disney Music Group distributes original music and motion picture soundtracks under its four record labels: Walt Disney Records, Buena Vista Records, Hollywood Records and Lyric Street Records.
The Walt Disney Company, together with its subsidiaries and affiliates, is a leading diversified international family entertainment and media enterprise with four business segments: media networks, parks and resorts, studio entertainment and consumer products. Disney is a Dow 30 company, had annual revenues of over $34 billion in its most recent fiscal year, and a market capitalization of approximately $68.88 billion as of June 19, 2007.