After 25 years with the company, Ben Pyne has announced his plans to step away from his post as President of Disney Media Distribution. Pyne will continue to fill the role he’s held since June 2007 through the summer to ease the transition.
“I am honored to have had such an amazing career at The Walt Disney Company, which has been rich with unique experiences and incredible accomplishments, and prepared me well for my next opportunity,” said Pyne. “It has been a special privilege to help build and grow brands, networks and programming that touch and enrich the lives of viewers all around the world. Over the years, I’ve been fortunate to work with fantastic people both at Disney, across the wider industry, as well as around the world, and I would like to thank them all for their passion, commitment and hard work.”
As President of Disney Media Distribution, Pyne is responsible for global distribution and sales of content produced by The Walt Disney Company. Since joining the company in 1992, the longtime exec has played a key role in growing Disney Channel and negotiating deals with major US and global distributors. Pyne was a chief architect in the ABC Owned Station retransmission consent strategy the network’s “clearinghouse” initiative. And he was instrumental in securing high profile VOD and SVOD deals.
Pyne also sits on the board of directors at Hulu as a representative of The Walt Disney Company, which owns a 30% stake through Disney-ABC Television Group.
