Disney Names ABC Family's Paul Lee to Lead ABC Network, Replace McPherson

Walt Disney Co. named Paul Lee president of the ABC Entertainment Group, replacing Steve McPherson, who resigned unexpectedly this week.

Lee will oversee the ABC Studios and supervise scheduling, marketing and programming, Burbank, California-based Disney said today in a statement. A replacement for him at ABC Family, the cable channel where he was president, will be made in the near future, Disney said.

The change comes as the networks promote their slates to critics at meetings in Beverly Hills, California, ahead of the TV season that starts in September. ABC presents its lineup on Aug. 1. Anne Sweeney, president of ABC Television Group, cited Lee’s creative instincts and ability to develop programming that resonates with audiences.

“Paul’s success at ABC Family is as amazing as it is indisputable,” Sweeney said in the statement.

ABC was the only major U.S. broadcaster to lose viewers last season and was also down in the 18-to-49-year-old group that advertisers seek, according to Nielsen Co. The network is adding six dramas to its schedule starting in September.

McPherson, in a statement from his publicist, said he would announce plans that include an “entrepreneurial venture in the spirits business” and “involvement in a new media company.”

Third among TV networks in prime-time audience, ABC plans to air new shows including “Body of Proof” starring Dana Delany and “Detroit 1-8-7,” about a mock-documentary crew that follows around homicide detectives. The network also picked up the comedy “Mr. Sunshine,” featuring Matthew Perry as manager of a San Diego sports arena.

Comedy Block

McPherson established a block of comedy shows on Wednesday nights last TV season that includes three returning programs: “Modern Family,” “Cougar Town” and “The Middle.”

The network sold about $2.4 billion in ads ahead of the new season for its full-day schedule, with average prime-time rates rising 8 percent to 9 percent, a person with knowledge of the matter said on June 9. ABC sold 75 percent to 80 percent of its inventory, the person said.

By comparison NBC, last in prime-time viewers, sold about $2.5 billion in advertising, with rates rising about 7 percent, another person said on June 10. The network pre-sold about 70 percent of its prime-time inventory, that person said.

Disney, the world’s biggest media company, fell 2 cents to $33.69 at 4:01 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares have climbed 4.5 percent this year.

To contact the reporters on this story: Andy Fixmer in Los Angeles at afixmer@bloomberg.net; Anthony Palazzo in Los Angeles at apalazzo@bloomberg.net

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