DIS Walt Disney Co

By Joe Flint 

Walt Disney Co. is restructuring how its entertainment television networks and their respective digital platforms sell advertising.

Currently each of the networks in the Disney/ABC TV Group, which includes the ABC broadcast network and cable channels Freeform and Disney Channel, operate as individual fiefdoms. Under the new design, ad sales for all the channels will be combined under one umbrella. ESPN, which is majority owned by Disney, isn't part of the new structure.

Disney/ABC TV Group President Ben Sherwood said the move will untangle the unit's dealings with advertisers as well as allow the company to better leverage its assets. It comes in the wake of longtime ABC sales chief Geri Wang's December announcement of her decision to retire in March.

"This new, simplified structure will create innovative and targeted opportunities that showcase the quality and reach of our content," Mr. Sherwood said in a statement.

Tapped to lead the effort as president of advertising sales for Disney/ABC is Rita Ferro, who had served as executive vice president of media sales and marketing for Disney Channels Worldwide since 2010.

In an interview, Ms. Ferro said the new structure will allow the unit to "get our house in order" and make it "much more effective in how we communicate across our portfolio."

The realignment is similar to how 21st Century Fox and Comcast Corp.'s NBCUniversal have structured their advertising efforts.

Ms. Ferro takes over ad sales at a pivotal time in the industry. Streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu are wooing viewers with commercial-free, on-demand options. Broadcast and cable television networks are struggling to find a balance between the need for commercial revenue and the risk of driving viewers away with too much clutter.

On an earnings call for Disney's latest quarterly results on Tuesday, Chief Executive Bob Iger acknowledged the problem of advertising over-saturation. "There's probably too much commercial interruption on television," he told analysts. "It's something we're going to continue to look at."

Ms. Ferro said she didn't anticipate making any immediate changes to the amount of commercials in programming on Disney's broadcast and cable outlets, but said, "we need to be mindful of the consumer experience."

Write to Joe Flint at joe.flint@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 08, 2017 15:21 ET (20:21 GMT)

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