Sweeney to head Disney's kid ops
By Paige Albiniak -- Broadcasting & Cable, 1/3/2003 8:43:00 AM MT
As part of a corporate reorganization, Anne Sweeney, president of Disney Cable Networks Group, is taking over all kids' TV programming and production at Disney, including kids' blocks on ABC, ABC Family and international channels.
"Going forward now, all of these divisions will be reporting into Anne, so those two units will work more in unison to leverage Disney's animation capability and distribution capabilities," a Disney spokesman said. "From the very beginning, a single point of management will determine where that programming will end up."
This is in addition to Sweeney's duties running Disney's cable properties, including Toon Disney, Disney Channel and SoapNet. Disney is also reorganizing the animation division itself, placing David Stainton in charge of the entire division.
Stainton, who started at Disney in 1989, replaces Thomas Schumacher, who is relocating to New York to focus solely on Disney's live-theater operation. Stainton had been president of Walt Disney Television Animation since January 2001. Stainton will report to Walt Disney Studio chief Dick Cook, while Barry Blumberg will take over Stainton's post as head of TV animation, reporting to Sweeney.
Disney's overall animation operations have come under the microscope since the studio had to take a $74 million write-off on feature film Treasure Planet over Thanksgiving.
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