Shannon Ryan, who most recently served as chief marketing officer for Fox Television Group, is joining Disney as president of Marketing for ABC Entertainment and Disney Television Studios.
The move, which had been in the works for months, reunites Ryan with her boss at Fox, Dana Walden, chairman of Disney Television Studios and ABC Entertainment.
In her new role, Ryan, who took a short break after leaving Fox earlier this year, will oversee all marketing, publicity and communications strategies for The ABC Television Network. She will also oversee the communications and marketing teams of Disney Television Studios, which include ABC Studios, Fox 21 Television Studios and 20th Century Fox Television. Ryan will report to Karey Burke, president of ABC Entertainment, and Craig Hunegs, president of Disney Television Studios.
“I can’t wait for Shannon to get here!” said Burke. “I’ve admired her innovative campaigns and fierce competitive spirit from afar for years, and I know ABC will be better in every way with her guiding our talented marketing and publicity teams. We are lucky indeed.”
Added Craig Hunegs, “Shannon’s one of the best strategists in the business, and we’ve already reaped the benefits of her marketing and publicity expertise at 20th and Fox 21. We’re excited that she’ll add ABC Studios to her portfolio as we build the Disney Television Studios brand into a world-class content creation engine.”
Since 2015, Ryan has served as chief marketing officer for the now-defunct Fox Television Group, part of which went to Disney and part remained at Fox after the merger. Ryan and her team launched the No. 1 broadcast entertainment show and the No. 1 new show of the season, The Masked Singer; as well as hit dramas 9-1-1, The Resident, The Passage and The Orville; and successfully relaunched Last Man Standing on Fox.
On the studio side, Ryan played key role to 20th Century Fox Television and Fox 21 Television Studios’ recent awards dominance, with Emmy and Golden Globe wins for The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story; SAG, Humanitas Prize and Emmy wins for This Is Us; and Emmy, Golden Globe and Critics’ Choice wins forThe Americans. During Ryan’s tenure (since November 2015), the studio has scored 234 Emmy nominations and 44 wins, 35 Golden Globe nods and 8 wins, and six AFI awards among numerous other honors.
Prior to her promotion to chief marketing officer, Ryan was EVP, Marketing & Communications, for FTG. From 2011 to 2015, she was EVP of Marketing & Communications for Fox. During her time at the network, Ryan has overseen campaigns for programs such as Empire, Glee, The Simpsons, Family Guy, Bob’s Burgers, Grease: Live, The X-Files, The Last Man on Earth, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, New Girl, American Idol, House, Arrested Development, Masterchef and 24.
(Excerpt) Read more in: Deadline