UPDATED: Disney has confirmed the exit of Peter Rice and the rise of Dana Walden. Release is below.
Peter Rice, the highly respected Disney executive, has been fired, Deadline learns. Rice is the chairman of Disney General Entertainment Content and has been a respected leader there since he moved after the studio swallowed Fox. Rice was caught unawares by the move yesterday, sources said.
Dana Walden, head of entertainment at Walt Disney Television, will succeed him, we hear. The move marks a high-profile restructuring move undertaken by Disney CEO Bob Chapek as he continues to put his stamp on Bob Iger’s studio post.
Both are well-respected executives, and Rice has had to spend the past few months staving off widespread rumors that Warner Bros Discovery boss David Zaslav would enlist him to run the entertainment business for him. When it was clear that Zaslav wanted executives reporting directly to him, Rice pulled out of the race, which came as a real shock.
No immediate reaction from Disney stock or many on Wall Street to this bang. There’s a Shakespearean element to all of this: Chapek has had a bumpy run and his contract expires next February. Rumor has it that Rice was a contender for the CEO position before Chapek got the job. He is expected to survive, but had he been deposed, Rice would have been the strongest internal candidate to replace him. Was that a factor? Nobody says.
Rice just signed a new contract last summer. Meanwhile, Walden’s contract expired this year and she had been negotiating a new one with Disney for the past few months. It was clearly a matter of choosing between the two executives for Disney CEO Chapek, and he made his choice.
The executive reshuffle is sure to resonate across the company as it upends the balance of power at the highest levels of TV operations. For example, Walden and FX Chairman John Landgraf have lived together for years and both report to Rice. It’s unclear how changing that dynamic will affect Landgraf, a well-respected executive.
Disney did not immediately respond to comment. We’ll update this story with more details as we hear them.
THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY APPOINTS DANA WALDEN CHAIRMAN OF DISNEY GENERAL ENTERTAINMENT CONTENT
BURBANK, Calif., June 9, 2022 – The Walt Disney Company has appointed Dana Walden as Chairwoman of Disney General Entertainment Content, Bob Chapek, chief executive officer, The Walt Disney Company, announced today. In this role, Walden will lead the company’s general entertainment content engine, which creates original entertainment and news programming for Disney’s streaming platforms and its cable and broadcast networks. She will oversee ABC Entertainment, ABC News, Disney Branded Television, Disney Television Studios, Freeform, FX, Hulu Originals, National Geographic Content and Onyx Collective. Walden was previously President of Entertainment at Walt Disney Television, succeeding Peter Rice, who is leaving the company. Her appointment is effective immediately and will report directly to Chapek.
“Dana is a dynamic, collaborative leader and cultural force who, in just three years, has transformed our television business into a content powerhouse that consistently delivers the entertainment viewers demand,” said Chapek. “Her well-deserved reputation for nurturing creative talent and developing programming that truly captures the cultural zeitgeist has led to hit after hit, from ABC’s Abbott Elementary and Onyx Collective’s Oscar-winning Summer of Soul to Hulu Originals like Only Murders in the Building, Dopesick, The Dropout, and The Kardashians. She and Peter have worked closely together for years to create the best programming in the industry, and I can’t think of anyone better than Dana to take Disney General Entertainment to even greater heights.”
“It’s an incredible honor to be asked to lead this incredibly talented team – they really are the absolute best in every way – and I’m grateful to Bob for this unique opportunity,” said Walden. “Disney General Entertainment’s culture of creative excellence and originality has made us home to many of the industry’s most talented creators. I am honored to lead this team and I am confident that together we will continue to build on the foundation of culture-defining entertainment that we have achieved to date.”
Walden joined Disney in 2019 with the company’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox, and in her role as head of entertainment for Walt Disney Television, she oversaw Disney Television Studios (20th Television, ABC Signature, 20th Television Animation and Walt Disney Television Alternative). original entertainment slate and content marketing for ABC, Freeform, Hulu Originals and Onyx Collective.
Under Walden’s leadership, ABC was the No. 1 entertainment network for three consecutive seasons — the first time in 25 years. And since taking over the helm of the Hulu Originals series in 2019, the streamer has enjoyed record ratings for the hits above, as well as The Handmaid’s Tale, Little Fires Everywhere, and Nine Perfect Strangers.
At Disney Television Studios, Walden has overseen the production of such iconic and successful series as Grey’s Anatomy, The Simpsons, Family Guy, Bob’s Burgers and 9-1-1. The areas under her oversight have collectively garnered an impressive 270 Emmy® nominations and 23 wins since she joined Disney.
Walden was previously Chairman and CEO of Fox Television Group, which included Fox Broadcasting Company, 20th Century Fox Television, Fox 21 Television Studios, Fox Consumer Products and syndication supplier 20th Television. In the four years she ran Fox Broadcasting Company, she took the network from fourth to first place.
During her 25 years at 21st Century Fox, the Walden-led studios garnered 184 Emmy® wins, 29 Golden Globes®, 17 Screen Actors Guild Awards, and 24 Peabody Awards and Humanitas Awards. In addition, Walden was responsible for numerous #1 hits including This Is Us, Empire and Glee for multiple Emmy Award winners Modern Family, Homeland, Ally McBeal, Arrested Development, The Practice and Boston Legal. Other landmark series that Walden has overseen include 24, How I Met Your Mother, New Girl, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Along with John Landgraf, she also oversaw the long and successful partnership between 20th Television and FX and FX Productions that resulted in The Americans, Sons of Anarchy, Pose, American Horror Story and the American Crime Story franchise.
In 2021 she received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Harvard Undergraduate Women in Business. She received the Brandon Tartikoff Legacy Award from the National Association of Television Program Executives and was named MIPCOM’s Personality of the Year. In 2013, she was inducted into Broadcasting & Cable’s Television Hall of Fame. She was named Showman of the Year by Variety, Television Showman of the Year by the International Cinematographers Guild Publicists, and 2019 Executive of the Year by The Hollywood Reporter.
Walden began her career at public relations firm Bender, Goldman & Helper. At Fox, she rose through positions ranging from communications to programming, eventually serving as executive vice president of drama before being named head of the studio in 1999. She sits on the board of directors of Live Nation Entertainment and Jonsson Comprehensive of the UCLA Cancer Center. She is also a member of the USC President’s Leadership Council and the NAACP President’s Circle.