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Sweeney leaving Disney in 2015

President of Disney/ABC Television Group Anne Sweeney is to leave her job in January 2015 to become a television director.

Anne Sweeney

Anne Sweeney

One of the most powerful and respected female executives in Hollywood, Sweeney oversees Walt Disney Company divisions including the ABC broadcast network, ABC Studios, the ABC Owned Television Stations Group, cable channel ABC Family and Disney Channels Worldwide.

Her responsibilities also include Disney’s equity interests in A+E Networks, Fusion and Hulu and she is co-chair of Disney Media Networks, which includes sportscaster ESPN.

In a statement, Sweeney said: “The past 18 years at Disney have been the highlight of my executive career. I’ve been a part of an amazing evolution in our business and our industry, and have achieved far more than I ever thought possible.

“But as wonderful as the experience has been, there has always been a nagging voice in the back of my head pushing me to step out of the comfort zone of the executive ranks and more directly into the creative arena that enticed me to TV in the first place.”

Observers have linked the move to Sweeney falling out of the running to succeed Robert Iger as Disney chairman and CEO in July 2016. In an interview with the New York Times, however, Sweeney denied wanting the job.

The paper also reported Iger saying he would look for an internal replacement for Sweeney and that he was surprised to see her turn down a new three-year contract with Disney to move to the creative side of the industry. “I was somewhat incredulous. I didn’t see that coming,” Iger said.

Disney executives who may be in contention for Sweeney’s pivotal post include ABC Entertainment Group president Paul Lee, Disney Channels Worldwide president Gary Marsh, Disney Media Networks global distribution president Ben Pyne and ABC News president Ben Sherwood. Outsiders who might be in the running include A+E Networks president and CEO Nancy Dubuc.

Sweeney joined Disney in 1996 as president of Disney Channel and EVP of Disney/ABC Cable Networks. Before that she was chairman and CEO of FX Networks and spent 12 years at Nickelodeon.

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