ADAM SANDERSON NAMED SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, FRANCHISE MANAGEMENT, DISNEY/ABC TELEVISION GROUP

Adam Sanderson, current Senior Vice President, Brand Marketing, Disney Channels Worldwide, has been named to the new position of Senior Vice President, Franchise Management, Disney/ABC Television Group (DATG). The organizational change and Sanderson's move were announced today by Peter Seymour, Executive Vice President, Strategy and Research, Disney Media Networks, to whom Sanderson will report.

In this expanded role, Sanderson will lead the development of franchise strategy across all DATG business units. He will be responsible for leveraging properties created by Disney Channel, Disney XD, Disney Junior, Radio Disney, ABC Family, ABC Entertainment Group, ABC News, ABC Daytime and Hyperion Publishing to generate revenue-producing franchises that build strategic and brand value for DATG and The Walt Disney Company.

Commenting on the announcement, Seymour stated: "As a content creation engine for The Walt Disney Company, we felt it was critical for Disney/ABC Television Group to have someone solely dedicated to managing the current and future franchises developed and produced by the Group. Luckily, we had the best executive for this already doing part of the job. Adam has spent the last decade successfully identifying, shepherding and maximizing franchises for Disney Channels' global kids business, and we're excited for him to now bring his expertise and talent to bear on behalf of the entire Disney/ABC TV portfolio."

Sanderson said: "While the Kids TV business has been the biggest contributor to franchise growth to date, I'm incredibly excited about the opportunity to leverage and extend the myriad properties from ABC and ABC Family to build long-term franchises for the company. "

Prior to this announcement, Sanderson was Senior Vice President, Brand Marketing, Disney Channels Worldwide. In this capacity he was responsible for leading brand & franchise management strategies that helped create some of television's biggest franchises (e.g. "High School Musical," "Hannah Montana," "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse"). For these, Sanderson developed numerous brand extensions, from retail to live entertainment, working across multiple lines of business at The Walt Disney Company. He also initiated the development of strategic branding initiatives, including the launch of Disney XD and Disney Junior, and created public affairs programs such as "Disney's Friends for Change" and "Disney's Magic of Healthy Living." In addition he managed all synergy initiatives and franchise support on behalf of Disney Channels Worldwide in support of TWDC priorities.

Previously Sanderson was Senior Vice President, Marketing, of the then-named ABC Cable Networks Group, overseeing the marketing, consumer and trade advertising, national and local promotions, event marketing, online, brand management and synergy efforts. He joined Disney in March 1997 as Vice President, Marketing for Disney Channel and was primarily responsible for creating consumer and trade promotions and event marketing. Disney Channel's PremEars in the Park and Bear in the Big Blue House LIVE, two signature events for the network, were created, developed and implemented under his direction.

Before Disney Channel, Sanderson was Vice President of Promotion Marketing for FX Networks, Inc., where he was responsible for creating strategic promotions and overseeing all consumer and affiliate promotions for both FX and FXM: Movies from Fox. He created and spearheaded the successful FX campaigns as "FX Everywhere" and "Breakfast Time Anytime/Fall Consumer Promotion."

Earlier Sanderson was Promotion Director at Conde Nast Traveler in New York. Prior to his stint in the publishing field, he was President and Founder of Sanderson Associates, an entertainment-marketing firm that produced special events and concerts. He also worked for Affiliate Artists, a non-profit performance arts organization based in New York, serving as director of marketing and development.

In 1996 Sanderson was named PROMAX's Cable Promotion Executive of the Year. He is a member of CTAM-Southern California Chapter, PMA and PROMAX. He graduated from the University of Albany with a bachelor of arts in Rhetoric and Communications. A native New Yorker, Sanderson resides in Los Angeles.