Dungy Done At ABC

Channing Dungey

Karey Burke will replace Channing Dungey as president of Walt Disney’s ABC Entertainment, the company said on Friday.

Burke is currently head of original programming for Disney’s cable channel Freeform.

Karey Burke

Dungey, the first African-American to lead a U.S. broadcast network, will stay through a transition period as Burke assumes her new role.

Reuters reports Disney is trying to transform itself into a broad-based digital entertainment company as audiences move to Netflix Inc., Alphabet Inc’s YouTube and other digital options.

Disney is also on the verge of gaining new film and television properties from its purchase of assets from Twenty-First Century Fox Inc for $71.3 billion.

After the completion of the Fox deal, Burke will report to Dana Walden, chairman of Disney Television Studios and ABC Entertainment, the company said.

Variety notes Dungey’s departure means that each of the Big 4 broadcast networks have now seen major departures at the top levels of their executive ranks within the last year. As Variety exclusively reported in September, NBC Entertainment chairman Bob Greenblatt is stepping down from that role, while CBS chairman and CEO Leslie Moonves was forced out after multiple women accused him of sexual harassment and assault. At Fox, Gary Newman stepped down in October ahead of the Fox-Disney merger, with AMC exec Charlie Collier being named CEO of entertainment for the network.