Rich Ross | |
---|---|
Alma mater | University of Pennsylvania Fordham University School of Law |
Occupation | Former President of Discovery Channel Discovery Channel |
Spouse | Adam Sanderson |
Rich Ross is the former Group President of Discovery Channel and Science Channel. Earlier in his tenure at Discovery he also oversaw Animal Planet and Velocity (TV network). [1] Previously he was the Chief Executive Officer of Shine America, [2] responsible for commercial strategy of the Shine Group in the United States. [3] He was also the president of entertainment at Disney Channel, and chairman of Walt Disney Studios. When Ross was named Chairman of Walt Disney Studios in 2009, he became the first openly gay studio chief. [4]
Ross discussed his plans for Discovery Channel on January 8, 2015 at the 2015 Television Critics Association press tour that included hiring key senior level executives to oversee documentaries and specials, as well as scripted programming. [5] He had the highest-rated Shark Week ever and its most-watched July ever. [6]
Ross grew up in Eastchester, New York. [7] His father, Marty, was a garment-industry executive, and his mother, Harriet, was a former teacher turned real-estate agent. [7] [8] Ross is Jewish. [9] He graduated from Eastchester High School. [10] When he was 19, he was hired to work in the mail room at the William Morris Agency in New York. [7] He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1983 with a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations and English. In 1986, he earned his J.D. degree from Fordham University. [11]
Ross's first job in the entertainment industry was as a talent booker at Nickelodeon. He built the Nickelodeon/Nick at Nite talent relations department and oversaw casting and talent booking for the network's shows including Clarissa Explains It All and Hey Dude . [7] He served as executive producer of Nickelodeon's Kids' Choice Awards. As vice president of program enterprises at Nickelodeon, Ross was involved in all original-programming deals and launched Nick News with Linda Ellerbee into syndication. He was a part of the launch team for Nickelodeon's first international network, Nickelodeon UK. He joined FX Networks in 1993 and was a member of the executive team that launched the cable network. [12]
In 1996, Ross joined Disney Channel in programming and production as a senior vice president, becoming general manager and executive vice president in 1999. In 2002 he became president of entertainment for Disney Channel, before being named president of Disney Channels Worldwide in 2004, where he oversaw the Disney Channel, Disney XD, Playhouse Disney, Disney Cinemagic, Hungama, GXT, Jetix, and Radio Disney brands. He is credited with establishing Disney's global kids' TV business as the prime entertainment source for the tween market with shows like Hannah Montana , Lizzie McGuire , [8] Wizards of Waverly Place , Shake It Up , The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and The Suite Life on Deck , That's So Raven and Phineas and Ferb . He launched the highly successful Disney Channel Original Movie franchise that produced the worldwide hit High School Musical series, as well as the Camp Rock and The Cheetah Girls series. Popular Playhouse Disney shows developed during his tenure include Handy Manny and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse . [13]
Ross was named Chairman of Walt Disney Studios in October 2009, overseeing Disney's film, music, and theatrical groups. Films released during Ross' tenure include the billion-dollar hits Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides , Disney's Alice in Wonderland and Disney-Pixar's Toy Story 3 , which are three of the top 11 highest-grossing films of all time; [14] Disney's The Muppets ; DreamWorks Studios' The Help; and Disney-Pixar's Cars 2 . [15]
Ross' tenure as Chairman was marred by two box-office flops. The 2011 animated movie Mars Needs Moms had a production budget of $150 million [16] and made $42.8 million in box office and DVD sales. [17] The March 2012 opening of John Carter was another high-profile flop; John Carter had a production budget of $250 million and earned just over $69 million at the box office in North America. [18] Due to the film's weak North American performance compared to its high production and marketing costs, Disney expected the film would generate a loss of about $200 million during its second fiscal quarter, [19] although its box office strength outside North America led some analysts to speculate that the write-down would be significantly less than expected. [20]
Ross left Disney on April 20, 2012, with the underperformance of John Carter and Mars Needs Moms cited as reasons for his departure. [21] It was reported that Ross sought to blame Pixar for John Carter, which prompted key Pixar executives to turn against Ross who already had alienated many within the studio. [22] [23]
Rich Ross became the Chief Executive Officer for Shine America in January 2013. [24] He was responsible for the ongoing commercial strategy of the Shine Group in the United States, overseeing production, distribution and marketing of original programming across broadcast, cable and digital platforms. [25] [2]
Rich Ross was with Discovery Communications from 2015 to 2018. He became President of Discovery Channel in January 2015 and in August of the same year was named Group President of Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and Science Channel. [12] In January 2017, he was also named President of Velocity, a channel that focuses on cars, sports and other topics targeted at men. He oversaw creative and brand strategy, development, production, marketing and all day-to-day operations for the four networks across all platforms that includes digital and social media. [26] [27]
In the wake of Discovery's acquisition of Scripps Interactive in 2018, Ross departed the company. [28] In contrast to Ross's reported intention to bring more scripted programming to the network, [29] CEO David Zaslav reaffirmed the organization's commitment to unscripted programming, characterizing the genre as more profitable and viable for Discovery. [30] Notably, the premiere of Manhunt: Unabomber , a scripted "tentpole" program produced during Ross's tenure, [31] averaged 1.3 million viewers, -17% lower than the unscripted program that aired one hour earlier. [32] Ross was replaced by Nancy Daniels, head of TLC. [33] Susanna Dinnage was named President of Animal Planet Global. [34]
He is married to his longtime partner Adam Sanderson. [24] In February 2017, he was selected to join the Board of Overseers for the School of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania.
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate that is headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16, 1923, by brothers Walt and Roy O. Disney as Disney Brothers Studio; it also operated under the names Walt Disney Studio and Walt Disney Productions before changing its name to The Walt Disney Company in 1986. Early in its existence, the company established itself as a leader in the animation industry, with the creation of the widely popular character Mickey Mouse, who first appeared in Steamboat Willie, which used synchronized sound, to become the first post-produced sound cartoon. The character would go on to become the company's mascot.
Pixar Animation Studios is an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer-animated feature films. It is based in Emeryville, California. Since 2006, Pixar has been a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, a division of Disney Entertainment, which is owned by The Walt Disney Company.
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film production company and subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, a division of Disney Entertainment, which is owned by The Walt Disney Company. The studio is the flagship producer of live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Studios unit, and is based at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California. Animated films produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar Animation Studios are also released under the studio banner. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures distributes and markets the films produced by Walt Disney Pictures.
John Carter is a 2012 American science fiction action-adventure film directed by Andrew Stanton, written by Stanton, Mark Andrews, and Michael Chabon, and based on A Princess of Mars, the first book in the Barsoom series of novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Produced by Jim Morris, Colin Wilson and Lindsey Collins, it stars Taylor Kitsch in the title role, Lynn Collins, Samantha Morton, Mark Strong, Ciarán Hinds, Dominic West, James Purefoy and Willem Dafoe. It chronicles the first interplanetary adventure of John Carter and his attempts to mediate civil unrest amongst the warring kingdoms of Barsoom.
John Alan Lasseter is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, animator, voice actor, and the head of animation at Skydance Animation. He was previously the chief creative officer of Pixar Animation Studios, Walt Disney Animation Studios, and Disneytoon Studios, as well as the Principal Creative Advisor for Walt Disney Imagineering.
The Walt Disney Studios is a major division of the Disney Entertainment business segment of The Walt Disney Company best known for housing its multifaceted film studio divisions. Founded on October 16, 1923 and based mainly at the namesake studio lot in Burbank, California, it is the seventh-oldest global film studio and the fifth-oldest in the United States, a member of the Motion Picture Association (MPA) and one of the "Big Five" major film studios.
Robert Allen Iger is an American media business executive who serves as chief executive officer (CEO) of The Walt Disney Company. He previously served as the president of ABC between 1994 and 1995 and the president and chief operating officer (COO) of Capital Cities/ABC, from 1995 until its acquisition by Disney in 1996. Iger was named president of Disney in 2000 and succeeded Michael Eisner as CEO in 2005, until his contract expired in 2020. He then served as executive chairman until his retirement from the company on December 31, 2021. At the request of Disney's board of directors, Iger returned to Disney as CEO on November 20, 2022, following the unscheduled and immediate dismissal of his appointed successor, Bob Chapek.
Disneytoon Studios (DTS), originally named Disney MovieToons and also formerly Walt Disney Video Premieres, was an American animation studio which created direct-to-video and occasional theatrical animated feature films. The studio was a division of Walt Disney Animation Studios, with both being part of The Walt Disney Studios, itself a division of The Walt Disney Company. The studio produced 44 feature films, beginning with DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp in 1990. Its final feature film was Tinker Bell and the Legend of the NeverBeast in 2015.
Richard W. Cook is an American film entertainment executive, and has served on the Board of Directors of Legendary Pictures since 2011. Prior to joining Legendary Pictures, he was the Chairman of the Walt Disney Studios from 2002 to 2009. At the time of his separation from the company, he was the only remaining top Disney executive who had worked for the company since before Michael Eisner took charge in 1984. Cook holds a degree in political science from the University of Southern California (USC).
Andrew Ayers Stanton is an American filmmaker and voice actor based at Pixar, which he joined in 1990. His film work includes co-writing and co-directing Pixar's A Bug's Life (1998), directing Finding Nemo (2003) and its sequel Finding Dory (2016), WALL-E (2008), and the live-action film, Disney's John Carter (2012), and co-writing all four Toy Story films (1995–2019) and Monsters, Inc. (2001).
Disney Television Animation (DTVA) is an American animation studio that serves as the television animation production arm of Disney Branded Television, a sub-division of Disney Entertainment, which is a division of The Walt Disney Company. The studio was originally established on December 5, 1984, by Gary Krisel during the reorganization and subsequent re-incorporation of Disney following the arrival of then-CEO Michael Eisner that year.
20th Century Animation is an American animation studio located in Century City, Los Angeles. Formed in 1994, it is organized as a division and label of 20th Century Studios, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios, and is tasked with producing animated feature-length films. At one point, 20th Century Animation had two subsidiaries: Fox Animation Studios, which was shut down on June 26, 2000, and Blue Sky Studios, which was closed on April 10, 2021. Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment distributes the films produced by 20th Century Animation in home media under the 20th Century Home Entertainment banner.
Anne Marie Sweeney is an American businesswoman. She currently serves as a member of the board of directors at Netflix, LEGO A/S, and the board of trustees at the Mayo Clinic and the J.P. Getty Trust. She was formerly the co-chair of Disney Media Networks and President of the Disney–ABC Television Group, and the President of Disney Channel from 1996 to 2014.
Disney General Entertainment Content (DGEC), formerly ABC Group, Disney–ABC Television Group and the second incarnation of Walt Disney Television, is part of Disney Entertainment, a division of The Walt Disney Company that oversees its owned-and-operated television content, assets and sub-divisions.
Alan Frederick Horn is an American entertainment industry executive. Horn became President and COO of Warner Bros. from 1999 to 2012. Horn next served as the chairman of Walt Disney Studios from 2012 to 2020. During his tenure at Disney, Horn also served as the chief creative officer from 2019 to 2021. Horn agreed to depart from Disney, effective December 31, 2021.
David Stainton is an American film and television executive. He was the president of Walt Disney Feature Animation from 2003 to 2006, a period during which the studio converted from a traditional animation studio to a computer animation production company. The films Chicken Little (2005) and Meet the Robinsons (2007) were produced during Stainton's tenure at the studio.