DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) tapped Rich Ross, president of Disney Channels Worldwide, to be chairman of Walt Disney Studios.
He takes over the struggling film division immediately; Dick Cook resigned abruptly last month after seven years at the helm.
Ross will oversee worldwide production, distribution and marketing for the company's movies under the Walt Disney, Touchstone, Miramax and Disney/Pixar labels. He also will head Disney's theatrical and music groups.
The 13-year Disney veteran "has an outstanding record of creating high-quality family entertainment," said Chief Executive Robert Iger.
Once the centerpiece of Disney's sprawling family-entertainment empire, Disney Studios today is just one of several high-profile film labels owned by the media giant.
Ross will manage a roster of film makers ranging from DreamWorks SKG co-founder Steven Spielberg to Pixar Chief Creative Officer John Lasseter as well as the soon-to-be acquired Marvel Entertainment Inc. (MVL).
When Iger took the reins four years ago, he stressed that Disney-branded movies, videogames and other products were at the core of the company's strategy as they were spun out across its empire of theme parks, toy manufacturing and television channels. The company had broadened the movie studio's mandate from children's animated films, adding live-action, family-oriented entertainment such as the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise. It also pared back units such as Miramax Films, whose often-edgy adult fare, like "Pulp Fiction," didn't fit the definition of a Disney film.
Disney also began snapping up former competitors as additional sources of films, starting with the $7.6 billion acquisition in 2006 of Pixar Animation Studios. Earlier this year, Disney struck a deal to distribute films from Spielberg's DreamWorks label. With Marvel CEO Ike Perlmutter set to stay on board after the acquisition, Disney will have at least three divisions run by strong-willed chiefs with long track records of calling their own creative shots.
Ross has been leading Disney Channels Worldwide, which includes 94 channels and channel feeds available in 163 countries in 32 languages and features brands such as the flagship Disney Channel, the boy-focused Disney XD and Playhouse Disney for younger kids. He also oversaw the growth of Radio Disney and of multiplatform offerings such as subscription video-on-demand and the Web sites DisneyXD.com and DisneyChannel.com.
Disney's shares closed Monday at $27.67 and were unchanged after hours. The stock is up 22% this year but is still down 6% from a year ago.
-By Kathy Shwiff, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2357; kathy.shwiff@dowjones.com