Disney-ABC's Anne Sweeney: Inspiring Creativity & Embracing Technology

Originally Published February 13 2006In many ways Anne Sweeney views her role as cochair of Disney Media Networks and president of the DisneyABC Television Group as comparable to her passion for restoring her 1700s stone house in the Hudson Valley not far from where she grew up in Kingston New York where her ancestors settled in the 1600s and to which she remains emotionally connected Maintaining the core strengths of a house39s foundation while restoring it roombyroom is comparable to the approach Anne has taken to rebuilding the ABCTV network which has experienced stunning revitalization since she added it to her portfolio in Fall 2004 Just as Anne remains connected to the Hudson Valley Anne believes viewers are connected to TV programs and networks quotUltimately success is all about relationshipsquot she says quotI39ve always believed a brand is a relationship you have with consumers its about viewers39 emotional connection with your shows your program franchises your networks and your advertisers We need to keep our relationships with audiences strong relevant and connectedquot quotOur first priority as a companyquot she said quotis creativity and making sure we provide an environment that inspires creativity and encourages people to go beyond the norm Our second priority is advancing our brands and franchises across all our divisions and into new technologies staying ahead of technology advancesquot Over our Lunch at Michael39samp8482 Anne was especially eager to chat about Disney Channel39s new franchise High School Musical which premiered on January 20 and has achieved record ratings generated recordsetting music sales for iTunes and broadband downloads and has catapulted to iconic status among young teens literally overnight Anne complimented MediaVillage39s Ed Martin on his early embrace of High School Musical adding that five students from her daughter39s high school class sent home ideas for the show quotIts core message is all about being who you are and not being pigeonholedquot Anne commented admitting even she has watched the movie three times quotIts message resonates with audiences of all agesquot Surrounded by a typical Michael39s who39s who in the media business including Ambassador Carl Spielvogel with MPG39s Charlie Rutman Spielvogel39s wife Barbara Lee Diamondstein Spielvogel sat at another table Discover Magazine39s new owner Bobby Guccione Conde Nast39s David Carey investment banker Dennis Miller ICM39s Esther Newberg Becca Cason Thrash David Brown and WABCTV news anchor Liz Cho Anne spoke candidly about her issues for the future and her responsibilities overseeing the ABC Television Network Touchstone Television and DisneyABC Cable Networks Group Disney Channel ABC Family Toon Disney SOAPnet Jetix plus Buena Vista Television Walt Disney Television Animation and Disney39s equity interests in Lifetime AampampE Television Networks and E Entertainment Networks quotOne challenge is we need to sort out business models as we go It39s up to each company to sit back and take a deep breath and decide to take a risk You have a creative vision and there39s a fine line between success and failurequot Anne believes the cable industry has matured in distribution and quotis now ready for its second act The first act was building distribution and brands The second act is about building relationships with consumers and embracing the new technologiesquot Two years ago Disney Channel was the first cable network to premier a regular series episode on videoondemand in advance of the regularly scheduled airdate An advance episode of the hit series That39s So Raven premiered seven days in advance in a VOD test with Cablevision and research showed the uptick in VOD exposure was dramatic ratings for the series actually improved and there was no negative impact quotThere are great ways to learn what consumers want improve the brand relationship and get closer to viewersquot Anne believes quotand we decided to be experimental in the VOD spacequot High School Musical was also made available in advance through subscription videoondemand Anne was credited by Walt Disney Company CEO Robert Iger with shepherding and finalizing the recent iPod programming agreement in only three days quotWe knew the world was changingquot she says quotBob asked me to meet with Steve Jobs and I had the opportunity to hold the beta version of the video iPod and have the experience as a consumer It wasn39t about the deal it was about watching Lost seeing the quality was there and understanding the consumer experience It was captivating and felt like a logical next step I also felt strongly about iTunes ability to market our content and understand our platforms The experience they39re providing consumers is at the highest level and they respect and are committing to protecting our contentquot As they embrace new media technologies ABC and other programmers are facing concerns with TV station affiliates and Anne points out quotthe iPod deal was very fast moving and we couldn39t disclose the discussions because of our nondisclosure agreement It39s difficult professionally I39m so accustomed to sharing and being collaborativequot Anne sent a video iPod to the governors of the ABC Affiliate Board and has discussed the implications of new technologies with affiliates quotAs we look at opportunities we are looking for ways to work with affiliates and figure out how we build the relationship while creating value for our viewers and shareholdersquot Research Anne points out is going to play the most critical role in understanding the viewer and determining how to best navigate the options quotThe more work we do on understanding how people use media the smarter we39ll be We are taking leadership positions but we are also saying no to a lot of opportunitiesquot Research is also an integral part of the changing relationship between media companies and advertisers and Anne is committed to understanding and advancing the quotnew metrics advertisers will be using to measure the multimedia universe as opposed to individual mediaquot International expansion is a third priority for DisneyABC Television along with encouraging creativity and embracing new technologies The Disney Channel has distribution in 24 countries including India where it has 17 million subscribers quotThe next great step is developing our creative staff around the worldquot says Anne Although Anne is immersed in her career she travels frequently with her husband attorney Philip Miller and two children to their Hudson Valley home and she finds occasional time to play the piano favoring Mozart The family is very involved with the Help Group School for communications disorders which Anne and Phil39s 20year old son Chris who is autistic attends As we lingered over coffee at Michael39s Anne smiled as she shared a story that personifies her busy life quotMy daughter was three weeks old when my husband started law school We were going to find time after he graduated to go to Italy together but my very first day back at work as senior VP program enterprises for NickelodeonNickatNite Rupert Murdoch calledquot She presided over the launch of FX and was then recruited in 1996 to join Disney quotWe still haven39t made it to Italyquot she laughs Anne Sweeney can be contacted by writing to her at contactmediavillagecom

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Disney-ABC's Anne Sweeney: Inspiring Creativity & Embracing Technology

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