Netflix Hires Former ABC Entertainment Boss, Stepping Up Rivalry
December 17 2018 - 1:29PM
Dow Jones News
By Joe Flint
Netflix Inc. has tapped former ABC Entertainment President
Channing Dungey as a vice president of original content, the latest
evidence of the growing rivalry between the streaming-video giant
and ABC-parent Walt Disney Co.
ABC said last month that Ms. Dungey was stepping down from her
post as Disney looks to finalize its acquisition of the bulk of
21st Century Fox Inc.'s entertainment operations. That deal, which
is expected to close early next year, will result in new management
at ABC and the rest of Disney's television operations.
Ms. Dungey, who starts in February, follows other prominent
people from ABC's stable who have moved to Netflix. She will be
reunited there with "Scandal" creator Shonda Rhimes and "black-ish"
creator Kenya Barris, both of whom have signed deals to make
content for Netflix. Earlier this year, Netflix hired Tendo
Nagenda, a top Disney movie executive for a senior role in its film
unit.
Netflix created a new position to land Ms. Dungey. She will
report to Cindy Holland, Netflix's vice president of original
content. Netflix said Ms. Dungey will work closely with Ms. Rhimes
and Mr. Barris as well as with other top Netflix talent.
Ms. Dungey will also work with the former President Barack Obama
and Michelle Obama, who signed a development deal with Netflix.
During her 14 years at Disney both as a development executive
and later as ABC president, Ms. Dungey was seen as a
talent-friendly executive. In a statement, Ms. Dungey said she was
"drawn to the forward-thinking, risk-taking and creative culture at
Netflix."
Her hiring comes as Netflix continues to spend heavily on
original content, with a projected bill of as much as $12 billion
this year, including shows and movies that will be released in the
future. The streaming service is facing greater competition for
original and acquired content from Amazon Prime, HBO and other
programmers.
Disney is set to become more of a head-on competitor to Netflix
late next year when it launches its own subscription streaming
service. That service, Disney+, will become the exclusive home for
many Disney movies and other programming when Disney's current
licensing deal with Netflix runs its course. It will also include
content from the newly-acquired Fox assets.
AT&T Inc.'s WarnerMedia is separately planning its own
streaming service, which is expected to launch late next year.
Netflix has benefited from the desire for creative freedom in
Hollywood. Mr. Barris negotiated an early exit from his TV
production deal at ABC studios because of a falling out over
"black-ish." The show, about an upper middle class black family,
has taken on political and cultural topics that have made ABC
executives nervous at times, people familiar with the matter have
said.
Write to Joe Flint at joe.flint@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 17, 2018 13:14 ET (18:14 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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