Disney–ABC Television Group
On April 21, 2004, Disney announced a restructuring of its Disney Media Networks division with Sweeney being named president of Disney–ABC Television Group,[21] and then-ESPN president George Bodenheimer becoming co-CEO of the division with Sweeney, as well as president of ABC Sports. This move added ABC TV Network within Disney–ABC.[22] ABC1 channel initially launched in the United Kingdom on 2004-9-27 as the first use of the ABC brand outside the US.[23] While ABC News Now was launched that year in the US on digital subchannel of 70 ABC owned & operated and affiliates.[24]
In February 2007, the previous iteration of Touchstone Television was renamed ABC Television Studio as part of Disney's push to drop secondary brands like Buena Vista for Disney, ABC, ESPN, and most recently, A&E Networks.[25] ABC1 in the UK was shut down on 2007-9-26.[26]
On June 12, 2007, Disney spun off its ABC Radio Networks and merged it into Citadel Communications with Citadel Broadcasting while retaining its ESPN Radio and Radio Disney networks and stations and a 10-year news provider licensing agreement with Citadel for ABC News Radio and the networks.[27][28]
On January 22, 2009, Disney–ABC announced a merger of ABC Entertainment and ABC Studios into ABC Entertainment Group.[29][30] That April, ABC Enterprises took an ownership stake in Hulu in exchange for online distribution license and $25 million in the ABC network ad credits.[31] The Live Well Network (LWN) was launched on April 27, 2009, by ABC Owned Television Stations on the stations' subchannels.[32][33][34] Later that year, A+E Networks acquired Lifetime Entertainment Services with DATG ownership increasing to 42%.[35]
On March 24, 2012, following the dissolution of the ABC Daytime division, ABC Family Worldwide began taking operational control of Soapnet until that network was slowly discontinued for Disney Junior; which would later rebrand to Disney Jr. on June 1, 2024.[37][38]
In July 2012, NBCUniversal confirmed plans to sell its 15.8% stake in A+E Networks to Disney for $3 billion (along with its previous owner Hearst Entertainment & Syndication, who became 50-50 partners in the joint venture).[39][40]
On August 21, 2013, Disney–ABC announced it will lay off 175 employees. The layoffs are expected to hit positions among technical operations as well as the unit's eight local stations.[41] On October 28, ABC News and Univision Communications launched Fusion, a cable Hispanic news and satire channel.[42]
In August 2014, A+E took a 10% stake in Vice Media for $250 million, then announced in April 2015 that H2 would be rebranded into the Vice channel with an indicated early 2016 launch.[43] Disney also directly made two $200 investments in Vice Media in November 2015, then a week later in December, they directly invested in it again for 10% to assist in funding its programming.[44] ABC Family became Freeform on January 12, 2016.[45]
On April 21, 2016, Disney–ABC sold its share in Fusion to Univision.[46] In September 2016, the group's president Ben Sherwood named Bruce Rosenblum, Television Academy chairman and former head of Warner Bros. TV Group, as president of business operations in s the newly created position, to reduce the number of direct reports from 17 to about 8. Roseblum would oversee ad sales in conjunction with channel heads, affiliate sales and marketing, engineering, digital media, global distribution, IT, research and strategy and business development. This allows Sherwood to focus on content and direct operating units that continue to directly report to him, ABC network units, cable channel units (Disney Channels Worldwide, and Freeform), ABC Studios and ABC TV Stations.[47]
With the March 14, 2018, Disney Company reorganization, in anticipation of integrating Fox assets from a proposed acquisition, all international channels including Disney Channels have been transferred to Walt Disney Direct-to-Consumer and International, a new segment, with American channels remaining with Disney–ABC Television Group. All global sales units and distribution units have been transfer to the Disney Direct-to-Consumer segment.[48]
