Full article follows…

Paul Lee, the executive who revived Walt Disney Co.’s moribund ABC Family channel with shows that appealed to the sensibilities of the millennial generation, was elevated Friday to president of ABC Entertainment Group.

Lee immediately takes over for Steve McPherson, who abruptly stepped down this week.

The 50-year-old, London-born Lee, a former BBC television executive, will oversee creative and business operations for the broadcast network as well as ABC Studios, the company’s in-house TV production unit. It’s a massive job for the executive, who has spent the last decade keeping a modest profile at mid-size cable channels.

But Disney executives are confident that Lee is up to the task. They point to Lee’s variety of skills, which include producing and directing made-for-TV movies. He worked on spicy telenovelas, a staple of Spanish-language television.

“Paul was hired six years ago because of his great creative instincts and his ability to identify an audience and develop programming that resonates with them,” Anne Sweeney, president of the Disney/ABC Television Group, said in a statement.

Broadening ABC’s audience will be Lee’s biggest challenge. A sore point for Disney was the fact that ABC ended the most recent television season in a third-place tie with NBC in the important category of viewers ages 18 to 49.

“He’s got to find some shows that attract men to the network. ABC’s audience is primarily made of up of women because of shows like ‘Desperate Housewives’ and ‘Grey’s Anatomy,’ ” said Brad Adgate, a TV analyst with Horizon Media. “But those shows are getting older. He has to create the next generation of hits for ABC. Their biggest shows have had a noticeable fall-off in audience.”

Reaching out to men has been a priority for ABC since it gave up its longtime ratings giant “Monday Night Football.” Although a huge draw, the show lost hundreds of millions of dollars a year for the network. Disney shifted the franchise to its profitable ESPN network, which has two streams of revenue — advertising and cable affiliate fees.

Despite taking big swings with shows with futuristic concepts, such as “Flash Forward,” or a look at some Neanderthal characters in “Cave Men,” McPherson was unable to bring in the testosterone crowd. During the last six years, the ABC network and TV studio has spent more than $500 million developing new shows, buying scripts and making deals with writers and producers.

“One of the mistakes that McPherson made was looking for another ‘Lost’ or another ‘Desperate Housewives,’ ” said David Scardino, entertainment specialist with the Santa Monica advertising agency RPA. “And those shows were really unique and not easy to replace.”

The shows that McPherson developed, he said, “always looked great and sounded great but they weren’t really executed that well.”

McPherson’s biggest hit was “Modern Family,” but even that show lacks the mainstream appeal of some of CBS’ comedies, including “Two and a Half Men,” and “The Big Bang Theory.”

Lee will step into the spotlight Sunday when he is introduced to more than 150 television industry writers in town for the twice-a-year gathering of the Television Critics Assn.

Lee founded the BBC America channel in the U.S. before joining ABC Family in 2004. He developed original shows for young adults who were craving sophisticated yet sweet dramas. The cable network has found success with such programs as “The Secret Life of the American Teenager,” “Pretty Little Liars” and “Kyle XY.”

Under Lee, ABC Family has shown six consecutive years of growth and ranks among the top five cable networks in prime time for teens and young women ages 18 to 49.

RITA FERRO PROMOTED TO EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT,
DISNEY MEDIA SALES AND MARKETING

BURBANK, June 17, 2010 . . . Rita Ferro, an executive with a strong track record in advertising sales and promotions, has been promoted to Executive Vice President, Disney Media Sales and Marketing, effective June 28. Ms. Ferro will relocate to New York from Miami, where she’s been an integral part of Disney and ESPN’s Latin America business since 1997. She succeeds Tricia Wilber who was recently named Chief Marketing Officer, The Walt Disney Company, Europe, Middle East and Africa.

In her new role, Ferro will lead the integrated sales team that represents and maximizes advertising sales, marketing and promotions across The Walt Disney Company’s media platforms serving kids, moms and families, including its kid-driven, family inclusive TV channels, its wide-range of online offerings, its mom-focused publishing business, and its kid- and mom-focused radio platform. The portfolio, consists of Disney Channel, Disney XD, Playhouse Disney (soon to re-brand to Disney Junior), plus over 20 Disney Online properties serving kids, families and/or women including Disney.com, DisneyFamily.com, DisneyChannel.com, RadioDisney.com, Kaboose.com and FamilyFun.com, among others.

Ferro will report to three business unit leaders – Carolina Lightcap, president, Disney Channels Worldwide; Paul Yanover, Executive Vice President and Managing Director, Disney Online, and Russell Hampton, president, Disney Publishing Worldwide.

Ms. Lightcap said, “Rita has a great reputation in the advertising community and a strong background in generating strategic opportunities for diverse clients in a dynamic multichannel, multi-brand business.” She continued, “I am excited to be working closely with her again, and know our integrated ad sales team stands to benefit enormously from her keen insights, strong relationships and leadership skills.”

“I look forward to working with Rita to build strategic cross-platform business opportunities,” stated Mr. Yanover. “Her multi-faceted background and experience leveraging strong brands to create unique solutions is a huge benefit to our integrated sales organization.”

Ferro has been Vice President, Advertising Sales, Disneymedia+ since 2008, representing to the advertising and promotions industry the vast commercial opportunities generated by Disney in Latin America –  a pan-regional business spanning television, radio, online, publishing, consumer products and studios. In this role, she had oversight of ad sales offices in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Miami, and its ad sales representatives in Central America, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru and Chile.

She joined ESPN International in 1997 as Manager, International Advertising Sales. In 1999 she was promoted to director, and in 2003 to Vice President, International Ad Sales, and gained management responsibility for the ESPN International ad sales office in Miami. She ultimately added ad sales management for Disney Media Network’s burgeoning kid-driven and family inclusive portfolio – Disney Channel, Disney XD and Playhouse Disney — in Latin America.

Prior to joining ESPN, Ferro was Manager of ad sales for Cisneros Television Group (1997), an advertising account manager with MTV Networks in Latin America (1994-97), and an account executive with Blue Pearl Entertainment (1993-94).

A native of Coral Gables, Florida, Ferro earned a Bachelors of Science degree in advertising and a Masters of International Business degree from Florida International University. She and her family will relocate from Coral Gables, Florida to New York.

One of the members of the PotF Island forum once suggested: “For kids it might be easier just to send in small amounts of cash to you, then you could report how much money you’re getting. Then you could use the money for ad space, the website or anything else that would help the movement.”And that’s exactly what we plan to do.

Can you contribute $5, $10, $20? Any donations are appreciated. All proceeds received go right back to Save Disney Shows to keep our campaigns running.

If you’re old enough to have a PayPal account, you can make a donation directly to paypal@savedisneyshows.org. If you want to ensure that your donation helps a specific show, you can add a comment like “donation for KP ” so we know your intent.

You can use the paypal donate button below to donate from a Credit Card without a paypal account.

Or, you can mail a check, money order, or cash to me at this address:

SDS Fundraising
C/O Gregory Isaac
PO Box 893211
Temecula, CA 92589-3211

If you also include your email address in your letter, I’ll let you know when I’ve received it.

The domains we’re trying to renew include:

SAVEDISNEYSHOWS.COM
SAVEKIMPOSSIBLE.ORG
SAVEWITCH.COM
MISSIONKIMPOSSIBLE.COM
SDSFORUM.ORG
SAVEKP.COM
SAVEKP.ORG
SAVELILOANDSTITCH.ORG
SAVEOURSTITCH.ORG
LILOANDSTITCH.ORG
FIXDISNEY.COM
LEROYANDSTITCH.COM
PRESERVETHEMAGIC.ORG
SAVEDISNEYSHOWS.NET

We know times are tough, but please give what you can, we can’t make this work without all of you. Thank you.

May 15, 2010 (Close-Up Media via COMTEX) — The Walt Disney Company has reported earnings for its second fiscal quarter and six months ended April 3.

In a May 11 release, the Walt Disney Company reported diluted earnings per share (EPS) for the second quarter increased 45 percent to $0.48 from $0.33 in the prior-year quarter. EPS for the current and prior-year quarter include the items discussed in the following paragraph. Excluding these items, EPS increased 12 percent to $0.48 from $0.43 in the prior-year quarter.

The current quarter included restructuring and impairment charges, a gain on the sale of an investment in a pay television service in Central Europe, and an accounting gain related to the acquisition of the Disney Stores in Japan, which collectively had no net impact on EPS. The prior-year quarter included restructuring and impairment charges which had a $0.10 per share impact on EPS.

For the six month period, diluted EPS was $0.93 compared to $0.78 in the prior-year period. In addition to the items discussed above, EPS for the current six months included restructuring and impairment charges and a gain on the sale of an investment in a television service in Europe which were recorded in the first quarter of the current year while the prior-year period included a gain on the sale of our investment in two pay television services in Latin America. Excluding these items, EPS increased 12 percent to $0.95 from $0.85 in the prior-year six months.

http://sdsmail.org/10things/

Please remember that it is still important to call and write Disney using the information on our How to Help page.

We are also planning on having our first Save 10 Things day in early June. Please check back next week for more information!

With this in mind, we’ve created a Save 10 Things Website at http://save10things.sds.me/.

It sounds like the decision was primarily made in response to lower than expected ratings. Which means that a sizable fan campaign has a reasonable chance of convincing the company to continue to invest in the show. So spread the word, and do it quickly! We need as many people as possible to write and call Disney and politely ask them to renew the show.

Hitflix Reports:

The creative team behind ABC Family’s well-regarded “10 Things I Hate About You” has been told that the comedy will not be renewed for a second season.

As so often happens these days, the news was initially reported first-hand via Twitter.

Early Thursday (April 29) afternoon, series creator Carter Covington tweeted, “Sad news… ABCFamily canceled the show Thanks 2 our AMAZING fans – U R the reason I do this! Enjoy the last 5 eps – they’re fantastic!”

ABC Family sources confirm Covington’s tweet that these will be the last five “10 Things I Hate About You” episodes, with the series finale currently set for the end of May.

“10 Things I Hate About You” premiered last year and was loosely based on the 1999 feature of the same title. That feature was, in turn, based loosely on William Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew.”

The second half of the first season returned in late March and although the series premiere broke ABC Family records last July, ratings for the new run were such that Covington had been instigating a Save Our Show campaign, also on Twitter.

The half-hour, single-camera comedy stars Larry Miller, Lindsey Shaw, Meaghan Martin, Ethan Peck, Dana Davis and Nicholas Braun.

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SHAREHOLDERS ELECT 13 DIRECTORS AT THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY ANNUAL MEETING

San Antonio, Tex. March 10, 2010 — Shareholders of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) at the 2010 Annual Meeting today elected 13 members of the Board of Directors and supported Board recommendations on the Company’s auditor, its stock incentive plan and amendments to its Restated Certificate of Incorporation, based on preliminary results.

Shareholders also agreed with the board in rejecting two shareholder proposals.

Disney Chairman John E. Pepper Jr. welcomed shareholders to the meeting at the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country and introduced members of the Board of Directors. He noted that last year was an extremely tough one for the global economy, adding that Disney’s management team “has done an excellent job of steering through” the challenges.

“Last year was more a period of adaptation than growth, but it also re-affirmed the importance of investing aggressively for the future in high-quality original branded entertainment and experiences,” Disney President and CEO Robert A. Iger told shareholders. “Ultimately, that’s the best way to assure Disney’s prosperity and, with that in mind, we’ve committed our capital and creative resources to some very exciting projects at our movie studios, our media networks and at our parks and resorts.”

Mr. Iger said that the recent acquisition of Marvel Entertainment will provide Disney “new opportunities to create great content” and that a big step was taken towards future growth when the Company received a go-ahead from China’s government to develop a new theme park in Shanghai. He also announced that the next D23 Expo, where Disney fans gather to get an inside look at technology and projects, mingle with talent and enjoy exclusive screenings and events, will take place in Anaheim, Ca., August 19-21, 2011.

Based on preliminary results, the following directors were re-elected to the Board, while Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg was elected for the first time:

• Susan Arnold
• John E. Bryson
• John S. Chen
• Judith L. Estrin
• Robert A. Iger
• Steven P. Jobs
• Fred H. Langhammer
• Aylwin B. Lewis
• Monica C. Lozano
• Robert W. Matschullat
• John E. Pepper Jr.
• Orin C. Smith

Shareholders also ratified the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as the Company’s independent accountants for the fiscal year ending October 2, 2010, approved an amendment to the Amended and Restated 2005 Stock Incentive Plan increasing the number of shares authorized to be issued under the plan and approved four amendments to the Company’s Restated Certificate of Incorporation.Shareholders rejected two shareholder proposals, one seeking specific reference to “ex-gays” in its employment policies and one seeking to institute shareholder advisory votes on executive compensation.

Final voting tallies are subject to certification by the Company’s inspector of elections, and will be included in the Company’s report to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by early next week.

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On Friday, it’s important that we have as many fans as possible email and call Disney to request a fourth season for Wizards.

But it’s also important that fans send paper letters to Disney in advance of the event. Emails are easy, but paper letters show dedication and they all have to be read! Emails can be filtered and deleted, but letters and phone calls can’t just be ignored. Start sending your letters now, so that Disney will receive them on or around Friday. You can get the addresses here. At the very least, please write to Carolina Lightcap and Robert Iger.

Let’s make our first Save Wizards Day as big as possible! Be sure to spread the word however you can. Join and promote our Facebook group to your friends, follow and re-tweet our Twitter, and link back to us whatever else you can think of. Together, we will can make a difference this February 26th.

Potential buyers of Walt Disney Co.’s (DIS) Miramax film unit include Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (LGF) and the Weinstein brothers, Reuters reported Monday on its Web site, citing unnamed sources familiar with the situation said.

Independent studio Summit Entertainment might also be interested in Miramax, the sources said on condition of anonymity, according to the new agency.

A Lions Gate spokesman was unavailable for comment, and Disney and Summit declined comment, the report said.

The Weinstein Co. confirmed its interest in Miramax, the report said. “We are keen to look at the company and we will see what happens in coming weeks,” it quoted David Glasser, operations executive for the independent Weinstein Co., as saying.

Friday February 5th was the unofficial kick off of our movement with an “unofficial” email Disney day. Wizards fans from around the globe came together and sent nearly a thousand emails through our SDS email program! Plus many more emails that where sent directly.

We have a long ways to go, and we still need to grow our numbers substantially, but we’re off to a great start!

Let’s make our first Save Wizards Day as big as possible! If we can make a big enough splash, we may even get an announcement this month. So start writing your paper letters, start thinking about what you’re going to say when you call, and start spreading the word! Our Save Wizards Day is coming up on February 26th.

Link to Us!

Just in time for Save Wizards Day, we have new banner images available for you to use on your websites, blogs, profiles, signatures, etc.!

This sort of promotion is a great way to show your Wizards pride and to raise awareness of our cause. You can find all of the banners we have available for you on our Save Wizards website. If you don’t like any of the designs or sizes we have, feel free to make your own.

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